Java Tips

With Guava you can use Lists.newArrayList(Iterable) or Sets.newHashSet(Iterable), among other similar methods.

http://dayg.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/time-unit-conversion-in-java/
long oneMinute = TimeUnit.SECONDS.toMillis(60);
TimeUnit.DAYS.sleep(45);
scheduledExcecutor.schedule(runMe, 10, TimeUnit.SECONDS);
return TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.toDays(numberMilliseconds);

How To Convert String To InputStream In Java
http://www.mkyong.com/java/how-to-convert-string-to-inputstream-in-java/
InputStream is = new ByteArrayInputStream(str.getBytes());

BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(is));