The city's much debated new once-per-week trash collection schedule starts tomorrow. Recyclables also will be collected weekly, again, starting tomorrow.

Remember, your trash must be in a trash can - you can get fined for leaving just a bag out. Recyclable materials will be collected in the same place as your trash (so if your trash is picked up in a rear alley, that's where your recyclables now will be collected too - this is a change). Also, recyclables can be put out in any container.

The city has a nifty little device on its Web site for residents to determine their trash and recycling days. Enter your address in the box on the upper right hand corner, then click the "Locate" button. Your new trash and recycling schedule will appear in the middle of the right-hand column.

I have a feeling lots of people will be taking it easy this weekend after going all out on July 4, but there still are some interesting things to do.

Friday

• Gallery talk and reception at Maryland Art Place for the opening of Convergence 09 - Work by recent graduates of the Maryland Institute College of Art, University of Maryland, Towson University and UMBC is on display. Talk begins at 6 p.m., reception at 7 at the Power Plant Live! gallery.
• BSO performs Psycho - The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performs music from the classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller Psycho while the film is projected above the stage. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Meyerhoff, tickets start at $25 and are available online.

Saturday

• Caribbean Carnival Festival - Food, sound, and dance from the Caribbean takes over Druid Hill Park. Saturday and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m.

Sunday

• Orioles vs Blue Jays - Your last chance to catch the Birds at Camden Yards before the All-Star break. First pitch at 1:35 p.m., tickets are available online.

The Orioles have become the first team in Major League Baseball to feature a 3D tour of their stadium on their Web site.

Is this a development that will lead to more victories on the field? Of course not, but the bottom line is this: it's pretty cool.

The tour was created by Harris Corp., a Florida-based company that uses high-fidelity videos based on ground, aerial and satellite imagery to create the applications, according to a story in the Orlando Sentinel. The company has created "virtual tours" of Washington, D.C., the Presidential Inauguration Parade route, the National Memorial Day Parade route, Arlington National Cemetery, and the U.S. Marine Corps Marathon route. But Camden Yards is its first ballpark.

Even if you've been to Oriole Park a million times, check out the simulation. Call it a 21st century virtual version of Orioles magic.

A photo of Camden Yards in boring old 2D. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

I was struck by this recent news: Baltimore is losing Baltimoreans.

Urban flight has been a constant in most major to medium-sized American cities for decades. After years of losing residents, Baltimore's population actually increased in 2006, a development that was much hailed by political and business leaders. However, that growth now appears to have been an aberration.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the city lost 3,231 people during the year that ended July 1, 2008. The business of counting people is hardly an exact science - the bureau's number is an estimate calculated using data from the 2000 census and taking into account births, deaths and immigration. The most recent census figures put Baltimore's population at 636,919.

This is important news for a number of reasons, the most notable being that the amount of money the city receives from many federal programs is based on its population. The fewer people, the fewer dollars Baltimore gets from Uncle Sam.

There are probably many reasons that account for the decline, but I'd like to hear your thoughts. Why does Baltimore's population continue to shrink, and what can city leaders do to stop the exodus?