public long start(String name){
  this.name=name;
  startTime=System.currentTimeMillis();
  log.debug("TIMER STARTED: " + name);
  return startTime;
}

public long start ( String name ) { this . name = name ; startTime = System . currentTimeMillis ( ) ; log . debug ( "TIMER STARTED: " + name ) ; return startTime ; }
starts the counter . side affect : the start time is printed to the log
