jQuery.noConflict();

/* preload image function */
(function($) {
  var cache = [];
  // Arguments are image paths relative to the current page.
  $.preLoadImages = function() {
    var args_len = arguments.length;
    for (var i = args_len; i--;) {
      var cacheImage = document.createElement('img');
      cacheImage.src = arguments[i];
      cache.push(cacheImage);
    }
  }
})(jQuery)

var $shared_path = jQuery("meta[name=shared_path]").attr('content');
var $variation_path = jQuery("meta[name=variation_path]").attr('content');

jQuery.preLoadImages($variation_path+'/button_sprite.png',
$variation_path+'/logo.png',
$shared_path+'/share_this_post_tooltip.png',
$shared_path+'/search_tooltip.png',
$shared_path+'/sliders/staged_slide_background.jpg',
$shared_path+'/sliders/half_staged_slide_background.jpg',
$shared_path+'/sliders/floating_slide_background.jpg',
$variation_path+'/gradient_slide.jpg',
$shared_path+'/slider_loader.gif',
$variation_path+'/menu.png',
$shared_path+'/intro_blurb.png'
);