function fastSort(field, ascending) {
      sortAsc = ascending;
      fastSortField = field;
      sortComparer = null;
      var oldToString = Object.prototype.toString;
      Object.prototype.toString = (typeof field == "function") ? field : function () {
        return this[field]
      };
      // an extra reversal for descending sort keeps the sort stable
      // (assuming a stable native sort implementation, which isn't true in some cases)
      if (ascending === false) {
        items.reverse();
      }
      items.sort();
      Object.prototype.toString = oldToString;
      if (ascending === false) {
        items.reverse();
      }
      idxById = {};
      updateIdxById();
      refresh();
    }
Provides a workaround for the extremely slow sorting in IE.
Does a [lexicographic] sort on a give column by temporarily overriding Object.prototype.toString
to return the value of that field and then doing a native Array.sort().