Rincewind

For the past five years, Rincewind has been my nom de plume, screen name, avatar, and online face for various forums and gaming activities. Rincewind is a character, a cowardly 'wizzard' to be more specific, in the Discworld Universe novels written by Terry Pratchett. I took a liking to Rincewind because, as his wikipedia article describes, he has the ability to solve small problems by turning them into huge disasters. That and his relentless skill at staying alive seemed well suited for online FPS's where I persue the ignoble goal of staying alive at any cost.

Yesterday, I saw that Terry Pratchett announced that he has been diagnosed with "a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer's." This news has bummed me out in (I imagine) much the same way people who enjoy stabbing their brain through their ocular cavities by reading the Wheel of Time series were bummed out when they learned that fantasy author Robert Jordan would die because of a rare form of blood cancer <</Rincewind tugs nervously at his braid>>.

I can relate to Alzheimer's because it runs in my family (on both sides mother and father) and i have experienced first-hand the ruinous, emotional devastation it inflicts on the friends and family of the afflicted.

If you have it, it's not a disease that you suffer, really. It's most noticeable and frustrating to yourself in the beginning; senior moments, forgotten dates and faces, senile outbursts. But it worries you less as it takes your hands and gently pulls you into a foggy oblivion of broken memories and half-made thoughts.

The end result of the disease is crushingly sad. The person you knew and loved is gone, but you can't really place when they left.

But knowing Terry, he'll be crushingly optimistic until his death. A personality that has to try hard at being mean and abrasive really shines through with a disease like Alzheimer's--he'll probably forget how to be mean and abrasive. (;

I hope Terry remains productive for years to come. In fact, it looks like he has two or three more books in the hanger (his literary (some would use that word pejoratively and I would punch them) output is truly amazing). Terry, his characters, and his worlds will not soon be forgotten. I wish him well, but most of all I wish him a quick journey once he has left.

Selfishly though, I hope he doesn't find the time to send Apophis a copyright notice.

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~~ Veritas simplex oratio est ~~
No matter how far a wizard goes, he will always come back for his hat. --T. Pratchett

<---- You know you're getting old when you rely on your forum meta-data to remind you how old you are.

Required Reading for all TG sandboxers

Mavrok

well looks like ive got some new books to read

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lTG-6thlMavrok

Bc2ID

I also have never read anything by him, but I will be sure to pick up one now. So sad to hear about anyone being diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

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gunjunkie

Bummer, he's easily one of the funniest authors out there. I love Discworld and his other novels.

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Do or do not, there is no try....
-- Yoda, Dagobah

Wimpinator

Man that really sucks! I have enjoyed many of the disc world books and his recent work with Neil Gieman (see "Good Omens") was a fantastic read.

For those of you that haven't had the chance to try Pratchett then get any of the Disc World books and sit back and enjoy.

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|TG-6th|Wimpinator

Gillespie

Ah, yeah. That sucks.

It was shocking to see the disease ravage my grandma's mind. It was as if she slowly unlearned a lifetime's worth of experiences. In the end, she was a confused, frightened child with nothing left of her former self.

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Rincewind

You wont be disappointed. All of Pratchett's books have delivered for me

__________________
~~ Veritas simplex oratio est ~~
No matter how far a wizard goes, he will always come back for his hat. --T. Pratchett

<---- You know you're getting old when you rely on your forum meta-data to remind you how old you are.

Required Reading for all TG sandboxers