Hannah Teter's Charity Set-Up for Long-Term Good

A version of this article appeared at Technorati on 25 February 2010.

Hannah Teter is a snowboarder. Hannah Teter is cool--man, is she cool. Hannah Teter is a force. Hannah Teter is a kid.

At just 23 years old, Teter has competed in two Olympics, winning gold in Torino and now silver in the women's halfpipe event at Vancouver.

Her charitable endeavors are extensive and well-publicized--she supports a town in Kenya and gives prize money to help Haitians.

The Pursuit of Greatness Can Be Costly

A version of this article was published by Technorati on 24 February 2010. To see all my Technorati articles, click Lifestyle in the Contents listing on the sidebar.

An object lesson in egoic behavior comes by way of a recently authenticated Van Gogh original.

Museum de Fundatie, a small museum in a small Dutch town 70 miles east of Amsterdam called Zwolle began showing what is now known to be Van Gogh's "Le Blute-Fin Mill" yesterday (pictured). It will remain on display through July 4th.

The painting and its former owner will remain forever linked by a checkered past.

"Le Blute-Fin Mill" was previously owned by an art collector and curator named Dirk Hannema, who bought it in 1975 from an unsuspecting Paris art dealer for the equivalent of $2,700. Hannema later insured the painting for around $43,000.

Let Your Better Self Shine

This article was originally published by Technorati on 12 February 2010. To see all my Technorati articles, click Lifestyle in the Contents listing on the sidebar.

I have a confession to make: I like Shine from Yahoo! I'm pretty sure it's for women, with fruity colors and Cosmo-esque content. But I like it.

I like it because from time to time they post articles like Brett Blumenthal's 6 Personality Traits to Admire and Acquire, articles that point us in the direction of our ideals.

The traits Blumenthal most admires (spoiler alert!) are Selflessness, Tolerance, Genuineness, Sensitivity, Integrity and Humility. She readily admits, however, that the list could be much longer.

This article's title invites the inevitable comparison to Dr. Stephen Covey's 1989 international bestseller The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. These are habits he recommends, not traits, but there is some overlap.