Terry Pratchett is hoping he can die on his own terms:

And so I have vowed that rather than let Alzheimer’s take me, I would take it. I would live my life as ever to the full and die, before the disease mounted its last attack, in my own home, in a chair on the lawn, with a brandy in my hand to wash down whatever modern version of the Brompton Cocktail some helpful medic could supply. And with Thomas Tallis on my iPod, I would shake hands with Death.

I hope for his sake that he can. Everybody should be allowed to opt out early, stigma-free, legal-entanglement-free.

Terry Pratchett knighted:

There are times when the phrase “Absolutely, totally, gobsmackingly, mindbogglingly amazed” just doesn’t cover it, but I find that in the Queen’s New Year Honours list I am now a Knight, for services to literature. This means that fans, while not calling me Sir, must now refrain from throwing things. Regrettably, no sword is included in the box :)

Ook!

Telegraph: Author Terry Pratchett on NHS Alzheimer's policy:

"The NHS kindly allows me to buy my own Aricept because I'm too young to have Alzheimer's for free, a situation I'm OK with in a want-to-kick-a-politician-in-the-teeth kind of way."

Be sure to read his full speech (PDF). He donated £500,000 (a bit over $1M) to the Alzheimer's Research Trust.