The image above, posted on Bryant Park’s Facebook page, shows that the annual lawn installation is going swimmingly. While construction delayed the installation of the lawn last year, this year the grass is already down and park officials are just keeping people off the grass while the sod takes root. While there’s no official date for when the lawn should be open, the first scheduled event on the lawn is Yoga on May 3. That’s just two weeks away.

Original Article

It’s the most annoying situation in the world: a document arrives that you have to sign and fax back. The only problem is you don’t have a printer and the nearest fax machine is god knows where. What do you do? Well, if you’re tech-savvy, you can sign and fax that document without breaking a sweat. Here’s what you do:

The first thing you’re going to need to do is covert the document to PDF. If you’re on a Mac this is simple: just hit file > print. Once you get to the print screen look for the PDF button and select “save as PDF.”

If you’re on a Windows PC, you can convert files to PDF using CutePDF. After you install it you can covert files to PDF by selecting file > print and choosing CutePDF from the printer options.

There are a myriad options for signing  documents. If you’ve got an iPhone, iPad or Android device Adobe Reader (App Store | Play Store) lets you sign any document using the touchscreen. You can even resize and control the thickness of the signature.

If you’re on a Mac or PC Adobe Reader (link) will again do the trick, letting you draw your signature using the trackpad or upload an image of your signature that you might have saved elsewhere. If you’re on a mac and you want a picture-perfect version of your signature, the built-in Preview is the way to go, as it lets you scan your signature using your computer’s built-in camera.

Once you’ve got your document signed it’s time to send it off, and you can do it without using a fax machine. Here at TFA we’re pretty big fans of using Hellofax, a website that lets you upload and fax out documents. We’ve written about Hellofax before, but here are the basics: once you sign up for an account you can upload a document, sign it if you need to, and fax it off to any number. You’ll even get an email confirmation that the fax was sent out. If you’re a Dropbox user you can connect your account and have your incoming faxes stored in your Dropbox.

Hellofax is freemium; basic users start out with five free fax pages. After that it’s just 99 cents per fax. (Which is cheaper than what you’d pay at that deli fax machine down the street.)  There are monthly plans that increase the number of faxes you can send out per month and also give you your own personal fax number as well. (Of course if you’re the type that wants to get the most out of the free account as possible, you can get 5 extra fax pages for every friend you refer.)

Congratulations, you’ve officially signed and faxed a document without wasting any paper. Mother earth thanks you.

Original Article

Would you think twice about yelling at that bus driver if you knew he could shock the heck out of you? You might just, and that’s what State Senator Eric Adams is banking on, as he’s pushing for MTA workers getting armed with tasers.

Adams (who you might remember from his war on saggy pants) believes that arming MTA workers with stun guns will protect them from the crazies, the rude and the violent on subways and buses. Not surprisingly, the Transit Worker’s Union is on board with this plan. The MTA, however, is not so gung-ho. Here’s what MTA head Joe Lhota told the Daily News

“However, the proposed legislation is the wrong way to go about protecting MTA employees. Asking them to carry weapons would cross the line into law enforcement, a function that is best left to the NYPD.”

Of course, we can see this ending with a stunned person falling onto the tracks. And also, how exactly would the state pay for the stun guns?

photo via Yohei Yamashita

Original Article

Stop me if this has happened to you before: you’re awoken by your alarm clock in the morning and you shamble out of bed to get your morning coffee. You start to feel more alert as you drink the cup while you get dressed. Then, right before you have to leave for work you get a powerful urge to use the bathroom. What gives?

The coffee bean is a magical little plant that has many powers. The caffeine in it makes you alert (if a little jittery), and coffee is known to contain antioxidants, help prevent cancer and might even decrease the risk of diabetes. But it also does something else.

You know coffee is a stimulant (that’s why you drink it every morning). It works by blocking the cells in your brain that induce drowsiness. But it also stimulates your gastrointestinal tract, kicking your colon and sphincter into action. In fact some people can start feeling the effects as soon as four minutes after drinking a cup of joe.

But don’t think you’re some sort of freakshow; this is an entirely natural thing. In fact, In a 1990 study on the effects of coffee, 29 percent of tested subjects (and 63 percent of female subjects) indicated that they felt the need to use the bathroom after drinking coffee.

But now that you how coffee works, don’t start drinking it when you’re having a hard time…err…going. Remember that coffee kicks your system into overdrive, so your body will absorb liquids out of your waste and can actually make it harder to do your thing. But for those of you that are regular, think of it as another way that coffee  gets you ready to start your day.

photo via dongga BS

Original Article

HBO really, really wants you to watch Girls, the much-hyped show about four mid-twenties women in Brooklyn that draws comparisons to Sex in the City even though it’s nothing like it. In fact they want you to watch it so bad that they’ve made the first episode available online via YouTube. Ready to see what all of the fuss is about? Well then click the source link below and get to watching.

Watch Girls on YouTube

Original Article

This might not be a revelation considering how warm it’s been this year, but Pier 66 Maritime, home of our favorite impending lawsuit the Frying Pan, opens its doors for the season on April 26. Of course, the pier is open on any day where it’s sunny and 65 degrees, but look at it this way: come next week you won’t have consult your almanac before going.

Now for those of you that haven’t heard about the Frying Pan, here’s what we had to say about the once sunken-ship turned restaurant/dance floor:

But the real fun is exploring the Frying Pan. Yup, you can walk around every part of the once-sunken boat. And when we say ever part, we really mean it. Feel like heading down to the engine room? Go ahead. Want to head to the back room with the blue prints? Go for it. Want to visit the shipmates quarters? Feel free (in fact, the beds have sheets and pillows). It’s all open to you, with no supervision.

Original Article

You really, really, really should consider filing your taxes online. Not only is it more convenient and not only do you get your refund faster, but the alternative might actually kill you. WNYC reports that there is a six percent increase in fatal car accidents on tax day. That means 13 more people die speeding over to H&R Block.

Now if you absolutely must get your taxes filed in person remember that there are places around the city where you can do it for free. But for god’s sake get them done today.

photo via seniorliving.org

Original Article

You know what’s a sign that the economy is improving? More and more people are saying “screw it” and quitting their jobs.

According to the government’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey 51 percent of all job separations in February came from employees quitting. It’s the most quitters the economy has seen since September 2008. (You may remember what happened back then.)

According to USA Today, high quit levels are an indication that Americans are feeling comfortable with their chances of finding new work. After all, you’re way less likely to quit your job if there are no jobs to jump to.

photo via liquidnight

Original Article

Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. You probably know this because you’ve either heard tons of hype about in the news or you’ve noticed that Leonardo DiCaprio is king of the world again. But here’s an interesting tid-bit: had the Titanic not sank in the middle of the Atlantic, it would have docked at Chelsea Piers.

[caption id=”attachment_8365” align=”alignright” width=”320” caption=”Chelsea Piers in 1910”][/caption]

You may not think of  New York as a port city, but it is. (Don’t forget that every summer you watch movies on a carrier docked at a port.) It was even more so 100 years ago when flying was still in its infancy (It had only been 9 years since the first flight) and cars were just starting to become mainstream (the Model T had been introduced only four years prior.) And of New Yorks’ ports, Chelsea Piers, which routinely saw ships from the prestigious British White Star Lines, was one of the standouts.

Anyway, the Titanic was supposed to dock at Pier 59 on April 17, 1912 amid much celebration (don’t forget, the ship was LOADED with rich people and billed as a landmark of human engineering.)

Of course, as we all know it never made it. The ship hit an iceberg and sank in the middle of the Atlantic. Some of the Titanic’s passengers did make it to Chelsea Piers onboard the rescue ship Carpathia. 675 rescued passengers arrived and were greeted by thousands when the Carpathia docked in New York on April 20, 1912. (Edit: as noted in the comments below, the passengers arrived at Pier 54 instead of 59)

As for the pier itself, after it fell out of use it began to decay (kinda like Times Square), and was actually almost destroyed and replaced by a highway in the 80s. Then in the 90s the city came up with the idea to turn the area into a recreational center and the rest, as they say, is history.

Original Article

Hey buddy, the next time someone tells you to get off your butt, stop watching Linsanity and put down the beer you can say: “No! I’m making myself smarter!” Because you kinda are, at least when it comes to word games and stuff.

Here’s the deal: researchers at the University of Chicago conducted a test where they gave a bunch of guys two pints of beer and made them play a word association game. They did the same thing with sober guys. Guess who fared better? Totally the pint drinkers; not only did they solve 40 percent more problems than their sober counterparts, but they finished an average of 3.5 seconds faster. The lesson is that while alcohol makes more likely to tackle 8-year-old Jets fans, you’re also more likely to be better at pictionary.

photo via !borghetti

Original Article