I'm going to live with some monks for the rest of this week and early next week, so things will be quiet here.
This may be a little too touchy-feely for some people, but as I prepare for this trip, the one thing I was struck with this morning is how bad we have been to the Earth since North America was first colonized. Looking at things from the perspective of the Earth, things were pretty good back in the days when the Indians roamed this continent. Since then, we've built all of these cities, "conquered" all of this land, and then polluted the air, land, and water.
If I were the Earth, I wouldn't be too happy with people. Although I think only of the perspective of North America, I'm sure the same is true outside of this land.
Before going, here's a link to Java performance tips from JavaOne 2003. I have some more of these in my notes from the JavaOne Conference, and I'll put those out here next week when I return.