It's the first Tuesday of August, which means National Night Out: Mountain View, Los Altos, and Palo Alto all host evening block parties tonight where neighbors, police, and fire crews mingle over food and activities. It's also a legitimately hot, sunny one, so the field guide keeps the daytime moves indoors and the calendar's best picks land after 5, once things start cooling off.

Today's field guide

Life admin by day, new art by night

Start with coffee at Nirvana Soul, then a free Fidelity session at SJSU to finally get the 403(b) sorted, with schnitzel at Naschmarkt in Campbell for lunch. The afternoon is for the kids, with one-on-one reading time at Cambrian Library at 3. End at Hammer Theatre for the Texturscape opening reception at 5, then ribs and brisket at Smoking Pig.

Tonight's pick

San Jose Giants vs. Stockton Ports

6:30 PM · Excite Ballpark · San Jose

Baseball is the right call on a day this hot: an evening first pitch means you skip the worst of the sun, and the night keeps cooling through the late innings. It's a ticketed game, so grab seats before you head to the ballpark.

Also on the calendar

National Night Out anchors the list in three cities, with a Smithsonian curator in Mountain View, an author talk at Kepler's, and a live Irish seisiún in San Jose around it. Open the full calendar →

What neighbors are talking about

A practical week on the subreddit: staying cool without AC, going car-free on VTA, and where to find good stuffed roti.