Stellarium is a free open source planetarium program for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.

It is being used in planetarium projectors. Just set your coordinates and go.

If you're at all into telescopes or the night sky, this one's for you.

in version 0.8.0:

sky

• over 120,000 stars from the Hipparcos catalogue with info
• asterisms and illustrations of the constellations
• images of nebulae
• realistic Milky Way
• very realistic atmosphere, sunrise and sunset
• the planets and their satellites

interface

• a powerful zoom
• time control
• multilingual interface
• scripting to record and play your own shows
• fisheye projection for planetarium domes
• spheric mirror projection for your own dome
• graphical interface and extensive keyboard control

visualisation

• equatorial and azimuthal grids
• star twinkling
• shooting stars
• eclipse simulation
• skinnable landscapes, now with spheric panorama projection

customisability

• add your own deep sky objects, landscapes, constellation images, scripts...

 

Click the image to view a full size screenshot:

What are you doing this July 4th? Well, if you're in the area (meaning the Pacific Northwest) and have a little "crazy" built up inside, here's your invitation to join me and a few of my pyro-friends as we spend the day setting up a big-ol' public fireworks display and firing it off for a community here in northwestern Oregon.

And I don't mean the fireworks you buy at the store or over on the reservation. I mean the real-meal-deal -- a commercial fireworks show bought and paid for by a town for the community.

Come on -- You know that hidden pyro deep down inside is clawing around in there, just trying to get out. You know you can't help it. You must give in. Say yes and experience the smoke, explosions and flames that go into getting those huge aerial displays off the ground and into the air. Or just help dig and bury equipment and then sit back and watch from the best seat in the house. Your choice.

In other words, come spend the 4th of July this year with us. It will be fun.

So - What exactly do you get/have to do?

Well first of all, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. Many people who come to help out are much more interested in setting up and watching the show than actually lighting it off, which is fine. Crew-members (yes, you'll get to truthfully tell people you're on the Pyro crew woohoo!) do everything: Install the mortars (4- and 5-inch mortar tubes for this show), load all the shells (hundreds of them), get trained on how this stuff works and - most importantly - how to be safe (training by yours truly), and finally we actually light the show and man the fire extinguishers - or whatever you are comfortable with. Then we clean it up and head out. By that time, it's been a long, fun day.

On the day of the show, after setup (read: manual labor involving shovels and dirt) is completed, we'll do some knowledge and safety training where you'll get to learn how the components work when you light them, and generally what to expect. It's fun. And fact is, not a lot of people get to do this kind of thing. So, this is my open invitation to the people who read this. Assuming you're 18 or older and you've not been convicted of a felony or are otherwise restricted from handling explosives (seriously, that's a hard-set rule from the feds and there's this piece of paper you'll sign saying you're cool), and assuming you don't show up drunk or anything (again, safety), it's a great time.

So, yeah... If you can talk the significant other into it (or bring him or her with ya), and you're up for it and not like completely freaked out by fire, explosions and lots of noise and smoke, let me know by sending me an email or giving me a call. Both the email link and the phone number are over there on the right side of the page (assuming you're viewing this on the web site).

Links from past shows to get you acclimated and prepared:

• Travis: Independence Day Warzone
• Gonna seriously blow some stuff up this weekend

So, if Travis' account of things doesn't completely scare you away, be sure to get in touch!

Coolio. See ya there.

I'm taking a quick break from my work-all-night-at-home mode, and I see that Chris says Gnomedex 6.0 is officially sold out in the main hall (you can still attend in the "cove" hall via video feed, though). It promises to be yet another good year for this Gnomedex show/conference/event (it will be my third). It's all happening June 29th through July 1st.

If you're attending this year, let me know (my email and mobile phone are over on the right side of the page) and let's catch up!

Also, the OPML of attendees' blogs is here.

Maybe I should head to Chicago for a week.

According to Reuters, the Sheraton Chicago hotel's general manager, Rick Ueno, has devised a rather unique informal program for Crackberry addicts. Check in, hand your Blackberry over to Ueno, and detox for the rest of your time there.

Ueno... said the program which began Wednesday grew out of his own personal BlackBerry addiction. His one-step recovery was switching to a regular cell phone.

"I was really addicted to my BlackBerry. I had an obsession with e-mail," he told Reuters. "Morning and night. There came a time when I didn’t think it was healthy ... I quit cold turkey."

Ueno said he would take personal charge of any BlackBerrys or related devices guests want to surrender and place them in his office locked up until their return is requested. There is no charge.

"I run a hotel with over 900 employees and thousands of guests. I think I’m more effective. I feel better. I sleep better. My family likes it," he said of his post-BlackBerry life.

He might be onto something...

I've made three trips from Portland, Oregon (where I live) to Washington DC in the past month. I love DC, but that's enough for me for now. Especially when you add in all the other trips I've made in-between. Try expecting to fly from DC to Omaha, but getting to Chicago and finding out your flight to Omaha was cancelled, so you decide to fly to Kansas City and drive to Omaha. at 1 a.m., then five hours later you get back on a plane to fly to your next stop

Crazy. I have spent most of the past couple months on the road. Or in the air, as the case may be.

Anyhow, time for a couple days off, no matter how much I may be needed elsewhere, so I am heading up to Scranton, PA to catch back up with my friend, Mary Beth. Her brother's getting married at West Point this weekend so we'll be up that way for a couple of days. What a cool place to get married. He graduated there last year and is an officer in the U.S. Army in Arizona. It will be a fun weekend.

Then it's back home so my dogs and cat can stare at me in disdain again for a day or two. Heh.

http://www.zachbraff.com/

Sure, he's had the Garden State blog going with an occasional post here and there for a while, but Zach Braff - one of the few actors I can actually stand to listen to (actually I think he's a rather good, decent, funny cool person) for more than five minutes at a time - has started a new blog with video and text entries. Check it out.

Needs RSS though.