Pop culture guy Brendan Shultz is back -- with a solid suggestion that you check out Science Chicago, a yearlong celebration and promotion of science.

As Brendan points out, the United States graduates nearly 10 times as many lawyers and accountants than scientists and engineers. Is that a problem? Listen to Brendan's assessment and tell us what you think.

DOWNLOADS AND WEBSITES
Brendan takes a look at Google's new Chrome browser, which promises to give Internet Explorer and Firefox a run for their money. He's especially impressed by Chrome's stability, its "incognito mode" that hides your browsing tracks and how the application displays recent history within tabs.

If you have some time on your hands and are handy with your hands, Brendan says you should take a look at the blockheaded pop-cultural icons at Cubeecraft. Imperial Stormtroopers, Indiana Jones -- even Mr. Stay Puft can emerge from your printer and grace your work area.

Rounding out our list of fun stuff is Fantastic Contraption, a Flash-based online game that makes players construct devices to deliver a pink ball into a pink square. The devices can become quite complex -- and you can see and learn from what others have built. One of Brendan's favorites is "Redneck Truck."

Warning: The Fantastic Contraption website loads with background music (at least on my Mac, it does), so if you're surfing in stealth mode at work, you might want to turn off your sound first.

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