def hashify(*args, &block)
      key_value_pairs = args.map {|a| yield(a) }

      # if using Ruby 1.9,
      #   Hash[ key_value_pairs ]
      # is all that's needed, but for Ruby 1.8 compatability, these must
      # be flattened and the resulting array unpacked. flatten(1) only
      # flattens the arrays constructed in the block, it won't mess up
      # any values (or keys) that are themselves arrays/hashes.
      Hash[ *( key_value_pairs.flatten(1) )]
    end
The passed block will be provided each value from the args
and must return array pairs [key, value] representing members of
the hash this method returns. Keys should be unique -- if they're
not, the earlier pair for that key will be overwritten.