public function logVar($var, $msg = '', $shiftfunc = null, $severity = 'debug')
{
//creating an $msg from variable
$msg .= '(' . gettype($var) . '):';
if (is_array($var) || is_object($var)) {
$msg .= print_r($var, true);
} else {
$msg .= $var;
}
$this->logLine($msg . "\n", $shiftfunc, $severity);
}