id agree that i think the dots are actually a serial number of some kind:

04404

00220

11110

SN#:

15734

ive got one of those binary clocks on my desk at work:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/ligh...

x|0|x|x|0

x|x|0|x|x

0|0|0|x|x

if you add the intentional extra space that they did it actually turns into a "Boat" Still life

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway's_Ga...

much more confusing and certainly not as foreboding ;)