energy bulb risk  I was at my parents this weekend and I walked into the bedroom.  A soft haze filled the room along with the smell of burnt wires (or an electrical smell).  We immediately opened the windows and started checking every outlet.  We came up empty handed.  We then proceeded to walk the the house and the furnace area to find the source of this strong odor of burning wires.  Still nothing.  Until we noticed a light bulb was out in their overhead light.  My dad, an electrical engineer said, 'that could be it.  It does contain a ballis (sp)."  We removed the cover and the bulb.  The bulb wasn't just burned out:  it actually had a whole burnt through the base area. Naturally, we then removed the bulb and filtered the room until you could comfortably sleep in it once again.