String.prototype.trim = function()
	{
		return this.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g,"");
	}
	
	function clearZipEntry()
	{
		$("#zipInput").val('');
	}
	
	// returns true if the supplied array contains the specified element, otherwise false, O(n) but good enough for what we're doing
	function contains(arr, elem)
	{
		for(i = 0; i < arr.length; i++)
			if(elem == arr[i])
				return true;
		return false;
	}

	function notEmpty(variable)
	{
		return (variable != "" && variable != undefined && variable != null);
	}
	
	function trim(str)
	{
		var strObj = "" + str; // stupid IE craps out if I just do str.replace, also doesn't like the string prototype sometimes!
		return strObj.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g,"");
	}
	
	function stripQuotes(str)
	{
		var strObj = "" + str;
		return strObj.replace(/"/g,"");
	}