code: private synchronized void initOut() throws IOException
     {
        if (out == null)
        {
           OutputStream os = new IndexOutputStream(dir.createOutput(REDO_LOG));
           out = new BufferedWriter(new OutputStreamWriter(os));
        }
     }
docs: Initializes the {@link #out} stream if it is not yet set.
  @throws IOException if an error occurs while creating the
  output stream.