As Apache said, Johnson is a Wyoming small-town native. The books don't really suffer from the same "realism" tradeoffs that sometimes occur when trying to build suspense/drama into a plot where you only have 42 minutes to pull it all off. Did those things you mentioned bug me in the TV show?... briefly. But I'm much more tolerant(?) of the fact that they don't always have time to make every detail "click" like they do in a novel.
And to be perfectly honest ... I suspect authenticity just isn't the deal-breaker for me that it might be for others with regard to enjoying fictional entertainment. In real life, however, I can assure you I'm quite the stickler for detail. Downright pedantic at times.
