Help me, Lazyweb, you're my only hope...

This is particularly aimed at boroshan, but there are others of you who may be able to help me in my puerile quest.

Some years ago - and I am talking in the 15 - 20 years ago mark, boroshan and I found a series of truly awful Dracula books; books so awful that they, like any movie by Ed Wood, transcended the genre. I can only recall that they were set in an approximately modern time (mid to late 20th century) and that someone, maybe Van Helsing or a descendant had captured Dracula and was using him to help detect and foil crimes. This seemingly impossible feat being accomplished by the insertion into Dracula's chest during daylight hours of a small radio-controlled electric motor and magnet affair with a small stake made of a broken match. When the motor was switched on, the stake would me removed from Dracula's heart. When it was off, or the battery failed, the stake plunged back into his heart thus providing an on-off switch.

You can see where this is going can't you?

Anyway, I can't recall the name of the series or the author and it has been plaguing me.

Help me, Lazyweb, you're my only hope...

This is particularly aimed at boroshan, but there are others of you who may be able to help me in my puerile quest.

Some years ago - and I am talking in the 15 - 20 years ago mark, boroshan and I found a series of truly awful Dracula books; books so awful that they, like any movie by Ed Wood, transcended the genre. I can only recall that they were set in an approximately modern time (mid to late 20th century) and that someone, maybe Van Helsing or a descendant had captured Dracula and was using him to help detect and foil crimes. This seemingly impossible feat being accomplished by the insertion into Dracula's chest during daylight hours of a small radio-controlled electric motor and magnet affair with a small stake made of a broken match. When the motor was switched on, the stake would me removed from Dracula's heart. When it was off, or the battery failed, the stake plunged back into his heart thus providing an on-off switch.

You can see where this is going can't you?

Anyway, I can't recall the name of the series or the author and it has been plaguing me.

Smug

I am feeling very smug; at midnight I shall be able to cross 4th May off my calendar and that will make it exactly one year since I gave up smoking. Actually it will be 366 days. Trust me to pick a leap year, but there you go.

My next target is to finish crossing off the days up to and including 31 December, which will mean one calendar year - all of 2008 - smoke free.

Smug

I am feeling very smug; at midnight I shall be able to cross 4th May off my calendar and that will make it exactly one year since I gave up smoking. Actually it will be 366 days. Trust me to pick a leap year, but there you go.

My next target is to finish crossing off the days up to and including 31 December, which will mean one calendar year - all of 2008 - smoke free.