(Via HuffPo)  Before Aaron Alexis went on his Navy Yard shooting rampage, he reportedly carved the words “Better Off This Way,” into his shotgun.

Alexis, who died during Monday’s shooting spree, also carved the phrase, “My E-L-F Weapon” onto the stock of the gun, according to ABC News.

Now, investigators are questioning the meaning of the phrases and if “better off this way” might be a clue that Alexis knew he would die in the altercation.  (link)

I think the first carving, “Better off This Way” is self explanatory….  Suicide by COP, make a name for yourself, and take out a few folks who look like the folks you hate.  Rail against the world and everyone who has grieved you.
The second carving, “My E-L-F Weapon” is probably a reflection of his job and his psychology.   He was an electrical IT type guy right?   Obviously unstable but generally pretty intelligent.   He was more than likely using a common term in his profession as an analogy behind his decision and his weapon to execute the decision:

E-L-F = Executable and Linkable Format:  ELF is flexible and extensible by design, and it is not bound to any particular processor or architecture. This has allowed it to be adopted by many different operating systems on many different platforms.  (link)

It’s a computer/IT term to make divergent dissimilar things work together.  A technical equalizer which makes varying principles equal.    Regardless of initial construct, if the ELF format is followed all variances become equal and compatible.
The shotgun represents how Alexis will bring equality to his endeavors.  In life he feels wronged, he feels unequal amid the world, and he feels “opposed to” in a general psychological sense.
His “ELF” Weapon will bring equality to a life viewed as frustratingly unequal.

Tell the FBI to send me $50 –  Please and Thanks.  😉