I'm the author of the article, and to be honest the only reason I did it this way was to make sure the period ended up in column 73. I've presented this in talk

I'm the author of the article, and to be honest the only reason I did it this way was to make sure the period ended up in column 73. I've presented this in talks about half a dozen times now, and you're the first person ever to notice that. Congrats!