studies in American Toughguy manqué (pg. 158) -- Unfulfilled or frustrated in realizing an ambition.
Snopes Cow (pg. 180) -- Some sort of weird Faulkner reference. See, this is why this book is good, now I gotta read Faulkner!
He carried a BIC lighter in his sweaty palm, like s sick man with his hand on the call nurse's button. (pg. 16)
The law requires you to ride right there on the blacktop... This I refuse to do... Still,when I saw screeching near-misses between cars and people stupid enough to pedal their $3,000, space-alloy machines in the 'bike lane' -- I call it the suicide lane -- I rooted instinctively for the car. (pg. 52)
'Where You Can Be An Individual!'™ (pg. 191)