I had come across this before, mainly in the context of cryptography: he had a code that could not be deciphered. But it wasn't until the Herald article that I actually saw a photo of the code - and it instantly made sense to me.
What else could it be but an initial-letter code? That is, he's using these notes as a memory jog, for something like a to-do list or a set of options. Initial letters instead of the full sentence could be because:
- he wanted to keep it private;
- he wanted to be brief; or
- he didn't have much space
It matters not. But since it's a string of personal reminders, they're unlikely to ever be successfully interpreted. Some guesses have been made, including a draft suicide note.
The man's clothes were traced back to the US. The disparity between them and his semi-literate handwriting have been noted. An exhumation has been advocated, which may provide further DNA clues.
But the code's clear. I look on it as an application of Occam's razor: don't multiply factors unnecessarily.
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