private static int normalizeComparisonResult(int result) {
    return result < 0 ? -1 : (result > 0 ? 1 : 0);
  }
Test timestamps that don't necessarily fit between 1970 and 2038. This depends on HIVE-4525
being fixed.
serde/src/test/org/apache/hadoop/hive/serde2/io/TestTimestampWritableV2.java