Merge 'skip_load_external' into 'current'

r22323@hlagh (orig r8196):  caelum | 2009-12-30 17:04:48 -0500
new branch to add an option to turn off loading external custom content
r22324@hlagh (orig r8197):  jhannah | 2009-12-30 21:00:47 -0500
Added skip_load_external()

r22325@hlagh (orig r8198):  caelum | 2009-12-30 21:19:13 -0500
minor test cleanup