You could take this a lot further and use reflection to solve the
expensive message creation.

       Object entry = new Object();
       String arcfilename = "MyFilName";

       LogWarning.ifNull(entry, "No entry found in storeEntries for
{0}", arcfilename);

       long time = System.currentTimeMillis();
       LogWarning.ifNull(entry, "Entry was null, DB contained {0}
clients named John Smith",
                         DB.findSomething("name == John Smith"));
       long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
       System.out.println("Took " + (end - time) + " millis");

       time = System.currentTimeMillis();
       LogWarning.ifNull(entry, "Entry was null, DB contained {0}
clients named John Smith", new ReflectionHelper(
           DB.class, "findSomething", "name == John Smith"));
       end = System.currentTimeMillis();
       System.out.println("Took " + (end - time) + " millis");

class LogWarning {
   public static void ifNull(Object it, String message, Object arg) {
       if (it == null) {
           System.out.println(MessageFormat.format(message, arg));
       }
   }

   public static void ifNull(Object it, String message, Object[]
objects) {
       if (it == null) {
           System.out.println(MessageFormat.format(message, objects));
       }
   }
}

class DB {
   public static int findSomething(String args) {
       try {
           Thread.sleep(5000);
       } catch (InterruptedException e) {
       }

       return 500;
   }
}

class ReflectionHelper {
   private Object instance;
   private Method method;
   private Object[] args;

   public ReflectionHelper(Object instance, String method, Object...
args) {
       this(instance.getClass(), instance, method, args);
   }

   public ReflectionHelper(Class clazz, String method, Object... args)
{
       this(clazz, null, method, args);
   }

   private ReflectionHelper(Class clazz, Object instance, String
method, Object[] args) {
       this.instance = instance;
       this.args = args;

       Class[] paramTypes = new Class[args.length];
       for (int i = 0; i < args.length; i++) {
           paramTypes[i] = args[i].getClass();
       }

       try {
           this.method = clazz.getMethod(method, paramTypes);
       } catch (NoSuchMethodException e) {
       }
   }

   private Object execute() {
       if (method != null) {
           try {
               return method.invoke(instance, args);
           } catch (IllegalAccessException e) {
               return "[ERROR EXECUTING] " + e.getMessage();
           } catch (InvocationTargetException e) {
               return "[ERROR EXECUTING] " + e.getMessage();
           }
       }
       return "[ERROR EXECUTING]";
   }

   public String toString() {
       return execute().toString();
   }
}

Now, this is just some rough code and for sure not production quality,
but solves the issue.

Bart

It is ?  <checks...>  Ah yes, that is more common by /far/.  Thank you for the
correction.

   -- chris