pyephem is a python module for astronomical calculations that lets you determine the positions of different celestial objects with scientific-grade precisions (so much for my old copy of Practical astronomy with your calculator). So if you want to keep track of the different celestial objects, pyephem is your friend.
In less than 50 lines, you can have a short script that outputs the current horizontal coordinates/rise times of the different planets for a custom location. I have posted an example here.