The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 30

THE COURIER-JOURNAL FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 1997 EDITOR: GREG JOHNSON PHONE: 582-4667 FAX: 582-4665 FBAGTUkES Nickelodeon wins top prize for packaging 'classic' shows Information superhighway stop showcases our road food I i i jV r- i. i VW ,7 M-- WrXr'W kv (ft -A yd BY escaped when their home filled with carbon monoxide last week. Parents sons, Patrick (with the family dog, Jake), Colin, Tony and Luke. MICHAEL HAYMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL Jim and Susan McDemott WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW i MJlTu brings a brush lessons for living CARBON MONOXIDE is a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas produced by burning any fuel. POTENTIAL SOURCES at home include furnaces, water heaters, stoves and grills that burn natural gas, oil, wood, charcoal, kerosene or other kinds of fuel.

SYMPTOMS OF POISONING include dizziness, fatigue, headache, nausea, irregular breathing, sleeplessness, vomiting and confusion. TO PREVENT PROBLEMS, have an annual qualified inspection of your heating system, water heaters and gas dryers including vents and chimneys. The technician should look at the electrical and mechanical components, including thermostat controls and automatic safety devices. Check vents and chimneys for blockages, loose connections or visi The McDermott family narrowly are shown sitting with their four Leaky furnace with death but By BOB DEITEL The Courier-Journal When 9-year-old Tony McDermott woke up groggy and complaining of a headache and nausea about 4:30 one morning last week, his mom took care of Tony immediate needs and sent him back to bed, figuring he had a virus. A half -hour later, Tony's little brother, Luke, 7, appeared with similar symptoms.

Soon their mom, Susan McDermott, was in the kitchen fetching something for one of the boys when, without warning, she collapsed onto the floor. Her husband, Jim, heard the noise, found his wife, didn't feel well himself but quickly guessed what was happening and rushed his family out of the house. All six McDermotts four boys and both parents were falling victim to a deadly substance that annually kills nearly 300 Americans: carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. "If my husband had already been to the stage where he couldn't wake up, and I was on the kitchen floor I don't think we'd be around," Susan McDermott said after the ordeal. "I 1 really would like people to know." The advice and warnings are issued every fall or winter: Having your home's heating system inspected can prevent many of the carbon-monoxide leaks that annually send more than 5,000 people to hospital emergency rooms, scys the U.S.

Consumer Product Safety Commission. The culprit at the McDermott home, in eastern Louisville, was a leak in a 16-year-old furnace. The family has lived in the house about four years and hadn't had the furnace inspected or cleaned for at least two years, said Susan McDermott, a preschool teacher. "We've got two jobs and four kids, and you tend to let the things go that you can let go. This is not a good thing to let go." A new furnace was installed a day after the terrifying episode.

The memories will linger longer, although some details arelost in the mental haze, McDermott said. She doesn't remember why she went to the kitchen before passing out. When her husband roused her, "I just wanted to go back to sleep," she said, "but I crawled crawled out the front door." Jim McDermott carried the two See CLOSE Page 4, col. 1, this section By ART KRAMER Cox News Service The road to the best in road food begins in Alpharetta, Ga. That's where Gary and Kathy Nickerson planted the flag for EatHere.com, a World Wide Web site devoted to the road-food hangouts you remember from those pile-in-the-car vacations.

Gary, 50, and Kathy, 48, have fond memories of such road trips, but they have an even fonder memory the anecdote about how they met. In the "road-food stories" section of the site, you can read about how a smart' aleck young diner (Gary) annoyed a young waitress (Kathy) until she accepted his offer of a date. They've shared their own memories, but they've also received a healthy helping of road-food lore from trie Web community, and a pas-sel of good reviews in the three months since they opened the site. In addition to restaurant reviews and recipes, the site serves up message boards on topics from road-food slang to Burma Shave signs. After they created animations of six Burma Shave rhymes on the site, readers began sending in their own favorites, including this one: He lit a match To check his tank That's why they call him Skinless Frank.

To preserve their credibility, the Nickersons accept no advertising from restaurants, but they're looking for a few long-term sponsorships from travel-related companies. The reviews are sorted into a "menu" that includes Burgers Dogs, Barbeque, Real Ice Cream and others. But some categories, including Country Inns, have had to be discontinued for lack of interest. They rely on the great out-there to nominate sites for their listings, but they confirm the existence and menu of each location. From a base of 30 restaurants in October, the site has grown to include about 200 reviews, with a few new ones coming in daily.

Kentucky and Indiana diners are represented. "But we're not trying to be a comprehensive directory," Gary Nickerson said, "We just want to fill our little niche." His dream is for the site to generate enough income for the Nickersons to hit the road as food-tasters. He's itching to try out such road-food eateries as Hudson's Hamburgers in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The Spokane, man who submitted Hudson's noted that the 14-stool diner, which has been operated by the same family since 1907, serves no fries or shakes with its grilled bur- gers, but said "we like it that way." For now, the Nickersons will continue to build the site, which they update every day. EatHere.com They call their site For road food fans The Web's best byte.

The site can be found at: http:www.eathere.com Clothing guide mixes, matches for easy look By BARBARA NACHMAN Gannett News Service Say "hello" to "Ten Easy Pieces." It's a new wardrobe-building guide published by the Lee Company that promises to answer the age-old questions "What should I wear to work?" "What should I wear to dinner?" and "What should I wear this weekend?" The guide answers these questions by presenting 10 clothing selections that women can mix and match to take almost anywhere. According to a Yankelovich Partners survey commissioned by Lee, 84 percent of college-educated women, ages 22 to 52, can wear casual attire to work at least once a week. Of these women, nearly half dress casually every day. Lee developed the "Ten Easy Pieces" wardrobe based on the results of this telephone survey, which polled 300 women during one week in April. Here's what you'll need: Wide leg khaki pants.

See CLOTHING Page 4, col. this section INDEX Ann Landers Comics Photography Television 8 8,9 Life could be a theme if you spent all of your time in front of the TV. Cable networks package series, movies and specials in themed blocks, nights, weeks and months of viewing heaven. Several networks have man aged to turn properties that once collected cobwebs on studios' shelves into attention-and ratings-grabbing programming blocks by jazzing them up with promotions, theme nights, hammy hosts and contests. 01H shows that played themselves out in syndication take on a new fascination and life through these packaging efforts.

NICKELODEON WINS a medal for motifs. The network masterfully turned "old reruns" into "classic TV" with marathons and clever promotions on "Nick at Nite." The network ran a call-in contest, for example, to gauge who was more powerful, Sa-mantha of "Bewitched" or Jean-nie of "I Dream of Jeannie." More than 12 million viewers called the network to vote for their "First Family of Fright" "The Addams Family" or "The Munsters." Nickelodeon's latest stunt recreates ABC's 1971-72 lineup, complete with "retromercials" from that era. Next Friday's lineup blasts to the past at 8 p.m. with "The Brady "The Partridge Family," "Room 222," "The Odd Couple" and "Love American Style." Right on! In similar fashion, Turner networks TNT and TBS established "Lunch Box TV," using series on which baby boomers grew up, like "Kung Fu," "Starsky and Hutch" and "CHiPs." The two netwprks also use-themes to promote films from their extensive libraries. TBS' "Dinner a Movie" combines comedy, cuisine and celluloid at 8:05 and 10:05 p.m.

Fridays. The hosts prepare a dish that complements each film. For example, "Steak in the Heart Tartar" accompanied the 1987 vampire flick "The Lost Boys." Tonight's menu includes 1987's "Baby Boom" at 8:05 and "Overboard" (1987) at 10:05. ON THURSDAYS, TBS hauls out "Movies for Guys Who Like Movies." You don't need a chromosome to appreciate these macho movies, though. This Thursday's mean lineup includes "Conan the Barbarian' (1982) at 8:05 p.m., "Beastmaster2: Through the Portal of Time" (1991) at 10:50 p.m.

and 1982's "The Beastmaster" at 1:05 a.m. Seems a little Neanderthal to run the sequel before the original, though. TNT's ongoing movie franchises include "Monstervision" md "Joe Bob's Last Call" on Fridays with drive-in aficionado Joe Bob Briggs as host of both features. "100 Percent Weird" follows in the wee hours on Fridays. Tonight, catch 1976's "Carrie" -at midnight on "Monstervision," 'Theatre of at 2:10 a.m.

on "Last Call" andl975's "Big Foot: Man or Beast" at 4:35 a.m. Both networks make a practice of running marathons on Super Bowl Sunday. Once again, TBS will run "16 Great Hours of Andy" (Griffith) from 10:05 a.m. to 1:35 a.m. TNT will air a "Super Monstervision" marathon from 2 p.m.

to 3 a.m. Movie channels also play the theme game. American Movie Classics will air more than 40 movies tied in with the documentary special "20th Century Fox: The First 50 p.m. Tuesday). Turner Classic Movies recently ran a weeklong, around-the-clock marathon of Humphrey Bogart films, simultaneously showcasing its new "Bogart: The Untold Story" documentary.

NOT ALL NETWORKS rely on relics for blocks of blockbuster programming. USA Network provides a cozy setting for afternoon shows from its "USA Live Cafe" from 1 to 4 p.m. weekdays. Join the patrons at the "USA Live Cafe" to watch "Love Connection," "People's Court" and "Big Date," Each of these shows lends itself to this setting. During each commercial break, the host at the cafe discusses the ruling, the date or Chuck Woolery's in-, sipid delivery.

It's a theme come true for motif-minded viewers Kevin Baker's column runs each Friday in Features. Call her at (502) 582-4475, fax her at (502) 582-4388 or e-mail her at KEVIN BAKER ble rust or stains. Look for cracks or separations in high-temperature plastic venting pipes. Follow manufacturers' directions for safe operation of fuel-burning appliances. Watch for such trouble signs as sooting on appliances, unfamiliar or burning odor, a decrease in the not water supply or an inability of your furnace to heat the home.

NEVER BURN charcoal indoors. Never use a gas range or oven for heating. Never leave a car running in a garage. INSTALL a carbon-monoxide detector that meets Underwriter Laboratories (UL) standard 2034. A proper detector, which will cost about $35 or more, should be installed on the wall or ceiling in the sleeping area of the home, but outside any bedroom.

Cheaper detectors are available, but they change color to indicate carbon monoxide. They don't sound alarms. Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Salsas don't have to be too hot or pricey NKjOTHWK minium The Nighthawk detector shows parts per million. Get the Ass Kickin series at New Earth Indoor-Outdoor Garden Center, 9810 Taylorsville Road, (502) 261-0005.

Is there a food in your life you really love? We want to love it too. Tell us where you find your quality food by writing Sarah Fritschner, The Courier-Journal, 525 W. Broadway, P.O. Box 740031, Louisville, Ky. to jazz V.

A- challenge (he should buy Dave's Insanity salsa, which is too hot for the most incendiary palates we've come across). Not only are these Readers taste salsas. Page 3. the best salsas I tasted, they are the cheapest. Find them at Old Town Liquors, 1529 Bardstown Road, (502) 451-8591, and at Liquor Outlets: 1800 S.

Hurstbourne Parkway, (502) 491-0753; 4048 Dixie Highway, (502) 447-6590; and 3420 Fern Valley Road, (502) 968-1666. Millina's Finest Organic Smoked Garlic Salsa: around $3.50 for 14 ounces. You don't have to support the organic food movement to love Millina's smoked garlic salsa; you just have to love garlic. You can smell the garlic around the block with this stuff, and it is pleasantly hot as well. It's a delicious all-organic, not-too-hot salsa, with no undo sweetness.

You can find it at Amazing Grace Whole Foods and Nutrition Center 1133 Bardstown Road, (502) 485-1122, where it costs $3.29, and at Rainbow Blossom natural foods store, 106 Fairfax (502) 896-0189, where it costs $3.59. Timpone's salsa muy rica (with wood-fire roasted tomatoes): $3.69 for 15 ounces. You can taste the smoke in this beautiful salsa, and it's always a treat to run into the whole cloves of Salsas made history a few years ago when they outsold ketchup. What the salsa people didn't tell you wis that it was the dollar value that outsold ketchup not that more salsa than ketchup was sold. It's easy to understand when you see some of the pnce tags, which can run upward of six bucks.

That's a pretty hefty chunk of cash for something sitting on a shelf next to 20 other bottles. The selection is huge. There are even whole mail-order catalogs devoted to them. I tasted more than a SARAH FRITSCHNER IN SEARCH OF GREAT FOOD dozen from lo cal outlets and found some I loved that didn't cost an arm and a leg. Desert Pepper salsas: $2.99 (oi so) for 15 or 16 ounces.

Run, don't walk, to your nearest Desert Pepper salsa dealer. Reach first for the corn, black bean and roasted pepper salsa (that's one flavor). Other salsas include mild, medium and hot and a newish two-olive roasted garlic that's medium-hot. The term "hot" is used in the context of average consumer taste buds. A habanero addict will not find hot Desert Pepper salsas a real Vl.

'I: roasted garlic, which add outstanding flavor. I found other similar sauces, but none this inexpensive. This salsa's one drawback is a varied texture chunks of tomato and garlic with a juicy sauce make it the kind of dip that is easily dropped on Oriental carpets. Keep the service on hard floors, or use it to make nachos where it will have a little time to soak in (pour it on chips, top with cheese and heat, then top with sliced jalapenos, chopped lettuce and sour cream). Get it at Liquor Outlet, 1800 S.

Hurstbourne Parkway, (502) 491-0753. Ass KIckin Salsa: $4.95 for 13 ounces. The price is entering the stratosphere, but the flavor is out of this world. The world's hottest pepper can't be outdone, but it can be matched by something sweet, as it turns out. Pair habanero with anything sweet and you'll temper it enough to tame it for palates that have never appreciated the heat before.

Sweet peaches make peach rum a super-special salsa (that's not all that sweet). The rum flavor is nearly non-existent. The roasted green chili and tequila variety has the same smooth heat that the peach rum has. It is very hot, but as if there's a light bulb in your mouth, not like you've swallowed a stick of fire. It is a definite burn, but a pleasant one.

Classics INSIDE Summer lessons With winter weather here, it's time for you outdoor types to remember what you've learned about summer. Protect your skin and eyes from ultraviolet rays reflecting off that white snow. C3 An Oscar preview? The Golden Globe awards, which air Sunday, have become a prep race for the Academy Awards. Globe producers promise that the show will have lots of clij from nominated films and shorter spee -les. C2 Lawrence Leighton Smith, conductor laureate of the Louisville Orchestra, will perform a piano concert of classical and jazz selections in Anchorage School's auditorium Sunday.

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