diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 2869ec0..be9d161 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,4 +3,6 @@
 __pycache__/
 *.pyc
 *.pyo
-
+.flake8
+.venv/
+test/
diff --git a/.vscode/settings.json b/.vscode/settings.json
index 96f4f72..3cc3c3f 100644
--- a/.vscode/settings.json
+++ b/.vscode/settings.json
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 {
     "python.pythonPath": "/usr/bin/python3",
-    "python.linting.pylintEnabled": true,
-    "python.linting.enabled": true
+    "python.linting.enabled": true,
+    "python.formatting.provider": "black",
+    "python.linting.flake8Enabled": true
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..33d6862
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+
+
+To obtain a DNS verified certificate for the websockert server:
+
+certbot certonly -d w02.wrede.ca -d ws.wrede.ca --dns-rfc2136 --dns-rfc2136-credentials /usr/local/etc/letsencrypt/certbot_dns_rfc2136.ini --dns-rfc2136-propagation-seconds 10
+
+and the rfc2136.ini file looks like:
+
+# Target DNS server
+dns_rfc2136_server = 192.168.196.248
+# Target DNS port
+dns_rfc2136_port = 53
+# TSIG key name
+dns_rfc2136_name = tsig-key
+# TSIG key secret
+dns_rfc2136_secret = 1KsWP8ZkZxBDKS0RQ2n3bkz1xpVPtz3Tk1y3r/dF+4knwGBzscse8iewaEr/6jUtxaL1taGME6eqSDtV2SD8NQ==
+# TSIG key algorithm
+dns_rfc2136_algorithm = HMAC-SHA512
+
diff --git a/hbd b/hbd
index de90537..fc67997 100755
--- a/hbd
+++ b/hbd
@@ -2,11 +2,8 @@
 # $Id: hbd,v 1.38 2013/07/14 02:25:05 andreas Exp $
 # Wait for heartbeat messages and act on them (or their absence)
 #
-VER = 4.2
-
 import time
 import os
-import string
 import sys
 import socket
 import ssl
@@ -20,7 +17,8 @@ import signal
 import pickle
 import smtplib
 import traceback
-import urllib.request, urllib.parse, urllib.error
+import urllib.request
+import urllib.error
 import urllib.parse
 import http.client
 import threading
@@ -38,7 +36,10 @@ from subprocess import Popen, STDOUT, PIPE
 # from hbdclass import *
 import hbdclass
 
+VER = 4.4
+
 CERT_PATH = "/usr/local/etc/letsencrypt/live/w02.wrede.ca/"
+CERT_PATH = "./test/"
 WSS_PEM = CERT_PATH + "fullchain.pem"
 WSS_KEY = CERT_PATH + "privkey.pem"
 
@@ -82,18 +83,18 @@ lastfm = ["", "", ""]
 tcss = """<script src="http:/sorttable.js"></script>
 <style>
 #ntable {
-	border-collapse: collapse;
+    border-collapse: collapse;
 }
 
 #wide-ntable {
-	border-collapse: collapse;
-	width: 100%;
+    border-collapse: collapse;
+    width: 100%;
 }
 
 #ntable td, #ntable th {
-	border: 1px solid #ddd;
-	text-align: left;
-	padding: 1px;
+    border: 1px solid #ddd;
+    text-align: left;
+    padding: 1px;
 }
 
 #ntable tr:nth-child(even){background-color: #f2f2f2}
@@ -101,10 +102,10 @@ tcss = """<script src="http:/sorttable.js"></script>
 #ntable tr:hover {background-color: #ddd;}
 
 #ntable th {
-	padding-top: 12px;
-	padding-bottom: 12px;
-	background-color: #9d9d9d;
-	color: white;
+    padding-top: 12px;
+    padding-bottom: 12px;
+    background-color: #9d9d9d;
+    color: white;
 }
 </style> """
 
@@ -142,7 +143,7 @@ class LogDevice:
 def dicttos(ID, d, compress=False):
     s = []
     for k in d:
-        if type(d[k]) == type(1.2):
+        if isinstance(d[k], float):
             s.append("%s=%0.5f" % (k, d[k]))
         else:
             s.append("%s=%s" % (k, d[k]))
@@ -207,8 +208,9 @@ def email(s, msg):
     except smtplib.SMTPRecipientsRefused as errs:
         log(None, "cannot send email: %s\n" % (errs))
         ret = "Fail"
-    except:
-        print(("smtp error: " + traceback.format_exc()))
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"smtp error: {e}")
+        ret = "Fail"
         saveandrestart()
     try:
         server.quit()
@@ -294,7 +296,7 @@ def pushsignal(msg, title="hbd", recipient=RECIPIENT):
         "send",
         "-m",
         message,
-        # 		   "-g",  GROUP,
+        #  "-g",  GROUP,
         recipient,
     ]
 
@@ -313,7 +315,7 @@ def pushsignal(msg, title="hbd", recipient=RECIPIENT):
 
 
 # nsupdate:  set the DNS A record for a fqdn
-# 	return: None if ok, else error text
+# return: None if ok, else error text
 def nsupdate(hostname, newip, dyndomain):
     D = {}
     D["domain"] = dyndomain
@@ -424,8 +426,7 @@ def checkoverdue():
                 conn.newstate(hbdclass.Connection.overdue, now, grace)
                 pmsg.append(conn.afam)
             if (
-                conn.state == hbdclass.Connection.overdue
-                and (now - conn.lastbeat) > DROPOVERDUE
+                conn.state == hbdclass.Connection.overdue and (now - conn.lastbeat) > DROPOVERDUE
             ):
                 conn.newstate(hbdclass.Connection.unknown, conn.lastbeat)
         if pmsg != []:
@@ -505,7 +506,7 @@ def readsock(sock):
 
     addr = addrp[0:2]
     name = shortname(msg.get("name", "unknown"))
-    if not name in hbdclass.Host.hosts:  # was: hosts.has_key(name):
+    if name not in hbdclass.Host.hosts:  # was: hosts.has_key(name):
         host = hbdclass.Host(name)
         host.dyn = name in dyndnshosts
         if verbose:
@@ -550,7 +551,7 @@ def readsock(sock):
             email("msg", message)
             pushmsg(message)
 
-    if conn.getstate() != hbdclass.Connection.up:  #  XXX  and interval > 0:
+    if conn.getstate() != hbdclass.Connection.up:   # XXX  and interval > 0:
         lasts = conn.state
         d = conn.newstate(hbdclass.Connection.up, now)
         m = "%s back after being %s for %s" % (conn.afam, lasts, dur(d))
@@ -661,7 +662,7 @@ class HttpHandler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
         return self.server_version
 
     def handle(self):
-        # 		return http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler.handle(self)
+        # return http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler.handle(self)
         try:
             return http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler.handle(self)
         except Exception as e:
@@ -678,8 +679,8 @@ class HttpHandler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
             "Last-Modified",
             time.strftime("%a, %d %b %Y %H:%M:%S GMT", time.gmtime(now)),
         )
-        # 		self.send_header("Accept-Ranges","bytes")
-        # 		self.send_header("hbdclass.Connection","close")
+        # self.send_header("Accept-Ranges","bytes")
+        # self.send_header("hbdclass.Connection","close")
         for h in headerdict:
             self.send_header(h, headerdict[h])
         self.end_headers()
@@ -764,11 +765,11 @@ class HttpHandler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
             uname = qa.get("h", [None])[0]
             if not uname:
                 code, res = self.builderror(400, "Argument error", "need h= argument")
-            if not uname in hbdclass.Host.hosts:
+            if uname not in hbdclass.Host.hosts:
                 code, res = self.builderror(400, "Data error", "h=%s not found" % uname)
             else:
                 log(uname, "dropped")
-                # 				for addr in hbdclass.Host.hosts[uname].0i
+                # for addr in hbdclass.Host.hosts[uname].0i
                 # TODO: send message to websocket about dropped host
                 del hbdclass.Host.hosts[uname]
                 res = self.buildhead()
@@ -778,7 +779,7 @@ class HttpHandler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
             uname = qa.get("h", [None])[0]
             if not uname:
                 code, res = self.builderror(400, "Argument error", "need h= argument")
-            if not uname in hbdclass.Host.hosts:
+            if uname not in hbdclass.Host.hosts:
                 code, res = self.builderror(400, "Data error", "h=%s not found" % uname)
             else:
                 ll = hbdclass.Host.hosts[uname].registerDns()
@@ -814,15 +815,15 @@ class HttpHandler(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
 
         elif qr.path == "/api/0/hosts":  # api access to host table
             headerdict = {"Content-Type": "application/json; charset=utf-8"}
-            l = []
+            lst = []
             for h in hbdclass.Host.hosts:
-                l.append(hbdclass.Host.hosts[h].jsons())
-            res = ["[" + ",".join(l) + "]"]
+                lst.append(hbdclass.Host.hosts[h].jsons())
+            res = ["[" + ",".join(lst) + "]"]
 
         elif qr.path == "/api/0/messages":  # api access to host table
             headerdict = {"Content-Type": "application/json; charset=utf-8"}
-            l = msgs[len(msgs) - 30 :]
-            res = [json.dumps(l)]
+            lst = msgs[len(msgs) - 30:]
+            res = [json.dumps(lst)]
 
         elif qr.path == "/r":  # restart
             res = self.buildhead()
@@ -889,7 +890,7 @@ def closeup():
     except:
         pass
 
-    # 	signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, 0)
+    # signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, 0)
     signal.signal(signal.SIGHUP, 0)
 
 
@@ -947,7 +948,7 @@ async def ws_serve(websocket, path):
             )
             await websocket.send(jmsg)
         # messages in reverse order
-        for m in msgs[len(msgs) - 20 :]:
+        for m in msgs[len(msgs) - 20:]:
             jmsg = json.dumps({"type": "message", "data": m})
             await websocket.send(jmsg)
 
@@ -1076,17 +1077,17 @@ if f:
         ls = f.readline()
         if len(ls) == 0:
             break
-        l = ls[:-1].strip()
-        if len(l) == 0 or l[0] == "#":
+        ln = ls[:-1].strip()
+        if len(ln) == 0 or ln[0] == "#":
             continue
         if verbose:
-            print(("  %s" % l))
-        r = l.split("=")
+            print(("  %s" % ln))
+        r = ln.split("=")
         o = r[0].strip()
         try:
             a = eval(r[1].strip())
         except Exception as e:
-            print(("error: %s" % str(r)))
+            print("error: %s %s" % (e, str(r)))
             sys.exit(1)
         if o == "interval":
             interval = a
@@ -1222,7 +1223,11 @@ asyncio.set_event_loop(loop)
 ssl_context = ssl.SSLContext(ssl.PROTOCOL_TLS_SERVER)
 wss_pem = pathlib.Path(WSS_PEM)
 wss_key = pathlib.Path(WSS_KEY)
-ssl_context.load_cert_chain(wss_pem, keyfile=wss_key)
+try:
+    ssl_context.load_cert_chain(wss_pem, keyfile=wss_key)
+except FileNotFoundError:
+    print(("warning: missing %s or %s" % (wss_pem, wss_key)))
+    sys.exit(1)
 wss_start_server = websockets.serve(
     ws_serve, hbd_host, WSSPORT, ssl=ssl_context, loop=loop, subprotocols=["hbd"]
 )
@@ -1281,8 +1286,8 @@ while running:
     for fh in sr[0]:
         if fh in [sock, sock6]:
             readsock(fh)
-        # 		elif fh == serv.fileno():
-        # 			serv.handle_request()
+        # elif fh == serv.fileno():
+        # serv.handle_request()
         else:
             sys.stderr.write("what happend just now?\n")
     if DEBUG > 3:
diff --git a/hbdclass.py b/hbdclass.py
index d99bad6..6a9501a 100644
--- a/hbdclass.py
+++ b/hbdclass.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 """
-host and connection class shared between hbd and 
-the websit's heartbeat.py  
+host and connection class shared between hbd and
+the websit's heartbeat.py
 
 """
 
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ class Host:
         return self.dyn
 
     def isIPv4(self, addr):
-        if type(addr) == type(()):
+        if isinstance(addr, tuple):
             return addr[0].find(".") > 0
         else:
             return addr.find(".") > 0
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ class Host:
             hostfields = Host.hostfields_long
         h = []
         for f in hostfields:
-            if type(f) == type(()):
+            if isinstance(f, tuple):
                 h.append(self.gene(tag, hd[f[0]], f[1]))
             else:
                 h.append(self.gene(tag, hd[f]))
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ class Host:
         res = []
         le = max(40 - len(Host.hosts), 3)
         res.append("<h4>Log of Events</h4>")
-        for m in msgs[len(msgs) - le :]:
+        for m in msgs[len(msgs) - le:]:
             res.append("%s<BR>" % m)
         return res
 
diff --git a/sorttable.js b/sorttable.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..38b0fc6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sorttable.js
@@ -0,0 +1,495 @@
+/*
+  SortTable
+  version 2
+  7th April 2007
+  Stuart Langridge, http://www.kryogenix.org/code/browser/sorttable/
+
+  Instructions:
+  Download this file
+  Add <script src="sorttable.js"></script> to your HTML
+  Add class="sortable" to any table you'd like to make sortable
+  Click on the headers to sort
+
+  Thanks to many, many people for contributions and suggestions.
+  Licenced as X11: http://www.kryogenix.org/code/browser/licence.html
+  This basically means: do what you want with it.
+*/
+
+
+var stIsIE = /*@cc_on!@*/false;
+
+sorttable = {
+  init: function() {
+    // quit if this function has already been called
+    if (arguments.callee.done) return;
+    // flag this function so we don't do the same thing twice
+    arguments.callee.done = true;
+    // kill the timer
+    if (_timer) clearInterval(_timer);
+
+    if (!document.createElement || !document.getElementsByTagName) return;
+
+    sorttable.DATE_RE = /^(\d\d?)[\/\.-](\d\d?)[\/\.-]((\d\d)?\d\d)$/;
+
+    forEach(document.getElementsByTagName('table'), function(table) {
+      if (table.className.search(/\bsortable\b/) != -1) {
+        sorttable.makeSortable(table);
+      }
+    });
+
+  },
+
+  makeSortable: function(table) {
+    if (table.getElementsByTagName('thead').length == 0) {
+      // table doesn't have a tHead. Since it should have, create one and
+      // put the first table row in it.
+      the = document.createElement('thead');
+      the.appendChild(table.rows[0]);
+      table.insertBefore(the,table.firstChild);
+    }
+    // Safari doesn't support table.tHead, sigh
+    if (table.tHead == null) table.tHead = table.getElementsByTagName('thead')[0];
+
+    if (table.tHead.rows.length != 1) return; // can't cope with two header rows
+
+    // Sorttable v1 put rows with a class of "sortbottom" at the bottom (as
+    // "total" rows, for example). This is B&R, since what you're supposed
+    // to do is put them in a tfoot. So, if there are sortbottom rows,
+    // for backwards compatibility, move them to tfoot (creating it if needed).
+    sortbottomrows = [];
+    for (var i=0; i<table.rows.length; i++) {
+      if (table.rows[i].className.search(/\bsortbottom\b/) != -1) {
+        sortbottomrows[sortbottomrows.length] = table.rows[i];
+      }
+    }
+    if (sortbottomrows) {
+      if (table.tFoot == null) {
+        // table doesn't have a tfoot. Create one.
+        tfo = document.createElement('tfoot');
+        table.appendChild(tfo);
+      }
+      for (var i=0; i<sortbottomrows.length; i++) {
+        tfo.appendChild(sortbottomrows[i]);
+      }
+      delete sortbottomrows;
+    }
+
+    // work through each column and calculate its type
+    headrow = table.tHead.rows[0].cells;
+    for (var i=0; i<headrow.length; i++) {
+      // manually override the type with a sorttable_type attribute
+      if (!headrow[i].className.match(/\bsorttable_nosort\b/)) { // skip this col
+        mtch = headrow[i].className.match(/\bsorttable_([a-z0-9]+)\b/);
+        if (mtch) { override = mtch[1]; }
+	      if (mtch && typeof sorttable["sort_"+override] == 'function') {
+	        headrow[i].sorttable_sortfunction = sorttable["sort_"+override];
+	      } else {
+	        headrow[i].sorttable_sortfunction = sorttable.guessType(table,i);
+	      }
+	      // make it clickable to sort
+	      headrow[i].sorttable_columnindex = i;
+	      headrow[i].sorttable_tbody = table.tBodies[0];
+	      dean_addEvent(headrow[i],"click", sorttable.innerSortFunction = function(e) {
+
+          if (this.className.search(/\bsorttable_sorted\b/) != -1) {
+            // if we're already sorted by this column, just
+            // reverse the table, which is quicker
+            sorttable.reverse(this.sorttable_tbody);
+            this.className = this.className.replace('sorttable_sorted',
+                                                    'sorttable_sorted_reverse');
+            this.removeChild(document.getElementById('sorttable_sortfwdind'));
+            sortrevind = document.createElement('span');
+            sortrevind.id = "sorttable_sortrevind";
+            sortrevind.innerHTML = stIsIE ? '&nbsp<font face="webdings">5</font>' : '&nbsp;&#x25B4;';
+            this.appendChild(sortrevind);
+            return;
+          }
+          if (this.className.search(/\bsorttable_sorted_reverse\b/) != -1) {
+            // if we're already sorted by this column in reverse, just
+            // re-reverse the table, which is quicker
+            sorttable.reverse(this.sorttable_tbody);
+            this.className = this.className.replace('sorttable_sorted_reverse',
+                                                    'sorttable_sorted');
+            this.removeChild(document.getElementById('sorttable_sortrevind'));
+            sortfwdind = document.createElement('span');
+            sortfwdind.id = "sorttable_sortfwdind";
+            sortfwdind.innerHTML = stIsIE ? '&nbsp<font face="webdings">6</font>' : '&nbsp;&#x25BE;';
+            this.appendChild(sortfwdind);
+            return;
+          }
+
+          // remove sorttable_sorted classes
+          theadrow = this.parentNode;
+          forEach(theadrow.childNodes, function(cell) {
+            if (cell.nodeType == 1) { // an element
+              cell.className = cell.className.replace('sorttable_sorted_reverse','');
+              cell.className = cell.className.replace('sorttable_sorted','');
+            }
+          });
+          sortfwdind = document.getElementById('sorttable_sortfwdind');
+          if (sortfwdind) { sortfwdind.parentNode.removeChild(sortfwdind); }
+          sortrevind = document.getElementById('sorttable_sortrevind');
+          if (sortrevind) { sortrevind.parentNode.removeChild(sortrevind); }
+
+          this.className += ' sorttable_sorted';
+          sortfwdind = document.createElement('span');
+          sortfwdind.id = "sorttable_sortfwdind";
+          sortfwdind.innerHTML = stIsIE ? '&nbsp<font face="webdings">6</font>' : '&nbsp;&#x25BE;';
+          this.appendChild(sortfwdind);
+
+	        // build an array to sort. This is a Schwartzian transform thing,
+	        // i.e., we "decorate" each row with the actual sort key,
+	        // sort based on the sort keys, and then put the rows back in order
+	        // which is a lot faster because you only do getInnerText once per row
+	        row_array = [];
+	        col = this.sorttable_columnindex;
+	        rows = this.sorttable_tbody.rows;
+	        for (var j=0; j<rows.length; j++) {
+	          row_array[row_array.length] = [sorttable.getInnerText(rows[j].cells[col]), rows[j]];
+	        }
+	        /* If you want a stable sort, uncomment the following line */
+	        //sorttable.shaker_sort(row_array, this.sorttable_sortfunction);
+	        /* and comment out this one */
+	        row_array.sort(this.sorttable_sortfunction);
+
+	        tb = this.sorttable_tbody;
+	        for (var j=0; j<row_array.length; j++) {
+	          tb.appendChild(row_array[j][1]);
+	        }
+
+	        delete row_array;
+	      });
+	    }
+    }
+  },
+
+  guessType: function(table, column) {
+    // guess the type of a column based on its first non-blank row
+    sortfn = sorttable.sort_alpha;
+    for (var i=0; i<table.tBodies[0].rows.length; i++) {
+      text = sorttable.getInnerText(table.tBodies[0].rows[i].cells[column]);
+      if (text != '') {
+        if (text.match(/^-?[£$¤]?[\d,.]+%?$/)) {
+          return sorttable.sort_numeric;
+        }
+        // check for a date: dd/mm/yyyy or dd/mm/yy
+        // can have / or . or - as separator
+        // can be mm/dd as well
+        possdate = text.match(sorttable.DATE_RE)
+        if (possdate) {
+          // looks like a date
+          first = parseInt(possdate[1]);
+          second = parseInt(possdate[2]);
+          if (first > 12) {
+            // definitely dd/mm
+            return sorttable.sort_ddmm;
+          } else if (second > 12) {
+            return sorttable.sort_mmdd;
+          } else {
+            // looks like a date, but we can't tell which, so assume
+            // that it's dd/mm (English imperialism!) and keep looking
+            sortfn = sorttable.sort_ddmm;
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    }
+    return sortfn;
+  },
+
+  getInnerText: function(node) {
+    // gets the text we want to use for sorting for a cell.
+    // strips leading and trailing whitespace.
+    // this is *not* a generic getInnerText function; it's special to sorttable.
+    // for example, you can override the cell text with a customkey attribute.
+    // it also gets .value for <input> fields.
+
+    if (!node) return "";
+
+    hasInputs = (typeof node.getElementsByTagName == 'function') &&
+                 node.getElementsByTagName('input').length;
+
+    if (node.getAttribute("sorttable_customkey") != null) {
+      return node.getAttribute("sorttable_customkey");
+    }
+    else if (typeof node.textContent != 'undefined' && !hasInputs) {
+      return node.textContent.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g, '');
+    }
+    else if (typeof node.innerText != 'undefined' && !hasInputs) {
+      return node.innerText.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g, '');
+    }
+    else if (typeof node.text != 'undefined' && !hasInputs) {
+      return node.text.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g, '');
+    }
+    else {
+      switch (node.nodeType) {
+        case 3:
+          if (node.nodeName.toLowerCase() == 'input') {
+            return node.value.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g, '');
+          }
+        case 4:
+          return node.nodeValue.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g, '');
+          break;
+        case 1:
+        case 11:
+          var innerText = '';
+          for (var i = 0; i < node.childNodes.length; i++) {
+            innerText += sorttable.getInnerText(node.childNodes[i]);
+          }
+          return innerText.replace(/^\s+|\s+$/g, '');
+          break;
+        default:
+          return '';
+      }
+    }
+  },
+
+  reverse: function(tbody) {
+    // reverse the rows in a tbody
+    newrows = [];
+    for (var i=0; i<tbody.rows.length; i++) {
+      newrows[newrows.length] = tbody.rows[i];
+    }
+    for (var i=newrows.length-1; i>=0; i--) {
+       tbody.appendChild(newrows[i]);
+    }
+    delete newrows;
+  },
+
+  /* sort functions
+     each sort function takes two parameters, a and b
+     you are comparing a[0] and b[0] */
+  sort_numeric: function(a,b) {
+    aa = parseFloat(a[0].replace(/[^0-9.-]/g,''));
+    if (isNaN(aa)) aa = 0;
+    bb = parseFloat(b[0].replace(/[^0-9.-]/g,''));
+    if (isNaN(bb)) bb = 0;
+    return aa-bb;
+  },
+  sort_alpha: function(a,b) {
+    if (a[0]==b[0]) return 0;
+    if (a[0]<b[0]) return -1;
+    return 1;
+  },
+  sort_ddmm: function(a,b) {
+    mtch = a[0].match(sorttable.DATE_RE);
+    y = mtch[3]; m = mtch[2]; d = mtch[1];
+    if (m.length == 1) m = '0'+m;
+    if (d.length == 1) d = '0'+d;
+    dt1 = y+m+d;
+    mtch = b[0].match(sorttable.DATE_RE);
+    y = mtch[3]; m = mtch[2]; d = mtch[1];
+    if (m.length == 1) m = '0'+m;
+    if (d.length == 1) d = '0'+d;
+    dt2 = y+m+d;
+    if (dt1==dt2) return 0;
+    if (dt1<dt2) return -1;
+    return 1;
+  },
+  sort_mmdd: function(a,b) {
+    mtch = a[0].match(sorttable.DATE_RE);
+    y = mtch[3]; d = mtch[2]; m = mtch[1];
+    if (m.length == 1) m = '0'+m;
+    if (d.length == 1) d = '0'+d;
+    dt1 = y+m+d;
+    mtch = b[0].match(sorttable.DATE_RE);
+    y = mtch[3]; d = mtch[2]; m = mtch[1];
+    if (m.length == 1) m = '0'+m;
+    if (d.length == 1) d = '0'+d;
+    dt2 = y+m+d;
+    if (dt1==dt2) return 0;
+    if (dt1<dt2) return -1;
+    return 1;
+  },
+
+  shaker_sort: function(list, comp_func) {
+    // A stable sort function to allow multi-level sorting of data
+    // see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocktail_sort
+    // thanks to Joseph Nahmias
+    var b = 0;
+    var t = list.length - 1;
+    var swap = true;
+
+    while(swap) {
+        swap = false;
+        for(var i = b; i < t; ++i) {
+            if ( comp_func(list[i], list[i+1]) > 0 ) {
+                var q = list[i]; list[i] = list[i+1]; list[i+1] = q;
+                swap = true;
+            }
+        } // for
+        t--;
+
+        if (!swap) break;
+
+        for(var i = t; i > b; --i) {
+            if ( comp_func(list[i], list[i-1]) < 0 ) {
+                var q = list[i]; list[i] = list[i-1]; list[i-1] = q;
+                swap = true;
+            }
+        } // for
+        b++;
+
+    } // while(swap)
+  }
+}
+
+/* ******************************************************************
+   Supporting functions: bundled here to avoid depending on a library
+   ****************************************************************** */
+
+// Dean Edwards/Matthias Miller/John Resig
+
+/* for Mozilla/Opera9 */
+if (document.addEventListener) {
+    document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", sorttable.init, false);
+}
+
+/* for Internet Explorer */
+/*@cc_on @*/
+/*@if (@_win32)
+    document.write("<script id=__ie_onload defer src=javascript:void(0)><\/script>");
+    var script = document.getElementById("__ie_onload");
+    script.onreadystatechange = function() {
+        if (this.readyState == "complete") {
+            sorttable.init(); // call the onload handler
+        }
+    };
+/*@end @*/
+
+/* for Safari */
+if (/WebKit/i.test(navigator.userAgent)) { // sniff
+    var _timer = setInterval(function() {
+        if (/loaded|complete/.test(document.readyState)) {
+            sorttable.init(); // call the onload handler
+        }
+    }, 10);
+}
+
+/* for other browsers */
+window.onload = sorttable.init;
+
+// written by Dean Edwards, 2005
+// with input from Tino Zijdel, Matthias Miller, Diego Perini
+
+// http://dean.edwards.name/weblog/2005/10/add-event/
+
+function dean_addEvent(element, type, handler) {
+	if (element.addEventListener) {
+		element.addEventListener(type, handler, false);
+	} else {
+		// assign each event handler a unique ID
+		if (!handler.$$guid) handler.$$guid = dean_addEvent.guid++;
+		// create a hash table of event types for the element
+		if (!element.events) element.events = {};
+		// create a hash table of event handlers for each element/event pair
+		var handlers = element.events[type];
+		if (!handlers) {
+			handlers = element.events[type] = {};
+			// store the existing event handler (if there is one)
+			if (element["on" + type]) {
+				handlers[0] = element["on" + type];
+			}
+		}
+		// store the event handler in the hash table
+		handlers[handler.$$guid] = handler;
+		// assign a global event handler to do all the work
+		element["on" + type] = handleEvent;
+	}
+};
+// a counter used to create unique IDs
+dean_addEvent.guid = 1;
+
+function removeEvent(element, type, handler) {
+	if (element.removeEventListener) {
+		element.removeEventListener(type, handler, false);
+	} else {
+		// delete the event handler from the hash table
+		if (element.events && element.events[type]) {
+			delete element.events[type][handler.$$guid];
+		}
+	}
+};
+
+function handleEvent(event) {
+	var returnValue = true;
+	// grab the event object (IE uses a global event object)
+	event = event || fixEvent(((this.ownerDocument || this.document || this).parentWindow || window).event);
+	// get a reference to the hash table of event handlers
+	var handlers = this.events[event.type];
+	// execute each event handler
+	for (var i in handlers) {
+		this.$$handleEvent = handlers[i];
+		if (this.$$handleEvent(event) === false) {
+			returnValue = false;
+		}
+	}
+	return returnValue;
+};
+
+function fixEvent(event) {
+	// add W3C standard event methods
+	event.preventDefault = fixEvent.preventDefault;
+	event.stopPropagation = fixEvent.stopPropagation;
+	return event;
+};
+fixEvent.preventDefault = function() {
+	this.returnValue = false;
+};
+fixEvent.stopPropagation = function() {
+  this.cancelBubble = true;
+}
+
+// Dean's forEach: http://dean.edwards.name/base/forEach.js
+/*
+	forEach, version 1.0
+	Copyright 2006, Dean Edwards
+	License: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php
+*/
+
+// array-like enumeration
+if (!Array.forEach) { // mozilla already supports this
+	Array.forEach = function(array, block, context) {
+		for (var i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
+			block.call(context, array[i], i, array);
+		}
+	};
+}
+
+// generic enumeration
+Function.prototype.forEach = function(object, block, context) {
+	for (var key in object) {
+		if (typeof this.prototype[key] == "undefined") {
+			block.call(context, object[key], key, object);
+		}
+	}
+};
+
+// character enumeration
+String.forEach = function(string, block, context) {
+	Array.forEach(string.split(""), function(chr, index) {
+		block.call(context, chr, index, string);
+	});
+};
+
+// globally resolve forEach enumeration
+var forEach = function(object, block, context) {
+	if (object) {
+		var resolve = Object; // default
+		if (object instanceof Function) {
+			// functions have a "length" property
+			resolve = Function;
+		} else if (object.forEach instanceof Function) {
+			// the object implements a custom forEach method so use that
+			object.forEach(block, context);
+			return;
+		} else if (typeof object == "string") {
+			// the object is a string
+			resolve = String;
+		} else if (typeof object.length == "number") {
+			// the object is array-like
+			resolve = Array;
+		}
+		resolve.forEach(object, block, context);
+	}
+};
+