5 bits of bcd with a = 0 gives something that initially looks like gibberish, although playing a bit, you can pull out the phrase BINARY IS HARD. -JAKE MHAGS !, where MHAGS appears to be the misspelling of Jake's name. Note that educated assumptions included fixing numerous typos, inserting spaces, etc.
B K N A R Y K S H A R D J A K E M H A G S
Now in the form of an answer instead of a comment.