/*
 equalizes the heights of a elements in a jQuery collection
 returns the original jQuery collection

 example: $("#col1, #col2, #col3").equalizeCols();

 requires: dimensions plugin
 (http://dev.jquery.com/browser/trunk/plugins/dimensions/)
*/
jQuery.fn.equalizeCols = function() {
 var el, height = 0, h;
 this.each(function() {
   el = jQuery(this).css("height", "auto");
   h = el.outerHeight();
   height = (h > height) ? h : height;
 });
 return this.each(function() {
   jQuery(this).css("height", height);
 });

};