TH Forum Highlights: Alternative Wine Corks, Danger: Men Cooking, Actual LED Experience

1) Forum reader Blackbadger is a 32 year old industrial designer whose looking into designing “a type of 'biocomposite' that will combine some type of reclaimed biomass with a totally natural resin or binding agent. Obviously the final product will need to be 100% inert, and not effect the wine in any way at all.” He would like to know, “if anyone here has any experience with eco-friendly resins or glues (for want of a better term), and would be interested in zipping me along a bit of information!”

2) Another reader, CarolinaJim has been informed by his wife that he is cooking. “So, I dusted off the recipe book and decided to cook corned beef and cabbage with carrots and potatoes; seasoned with the packet of spices and a red bay leaf plucked from the tree out back.” However, he wonders, which is greener, open pot or pressure cooker? “So, is using a pressure cooker green? I think so. Cuts down on the energy expended to cook food. Am I right?”

3) Frequent contributor mikebeavis decided to give LED bulbs a try. “I bought one and it came last week in the mail. So far I'm fascinated with it. It's producing about as much light as a 40-45 watt incandescent and it's drawing only 3 watts! Combined with one other CFL, I'm now lighting my basement with only 16 watts! Amazing stuff. If I switched out the CFL for a bigger 5-watt LED I could be lighting it with only 8 watts. Crazy!! “ I’m a big LED fan and user. I’ve cut my total wattage from lights each day more than half. I took the image to the left comparing a halogen with an LED. Which is which? Okay it is a little small to actually tell.