// make sure the $ is pointing to JQuery and not some other library
(function($){
	// add a new method to JQuery

	$.fn.equalHeight = function() {
	   // find the tallest height in the collection
	   // that was passed in (.column)
		var tallest = 5;
		this.each(function(){
			var thisHeight = $(this).height();
			thisHeight = parseInt(thisHeight)
			var htmlStr = $('#output').text();
			
			if( parseInt(thisHeight) >= parseInt(tallest)) {
				tallest = thisHeight;
			}
		});

		// set each items height to use the tallest value found
		this.each(function(){
			$(this).height(tallest);
		});
	}
})(jQuery);