title: Call jQuery plugin method on a standard string without using a selector?
body: <p>I have a <code>parseuri</code> jQuery plugin method that affects the <code>.val()</code> of an input otherwise the element's <code>.text()</code>. Although this question is general, this specific method parses URLs for example:</p>
  
  <pre><code>// assume text box contains URL like [ http://example.com:80 ]
  $('input:text').parseuri().authority; // get the authority of the domain
  
  // or if in a div
  $('div#url').parseuri().port; // get the port of the url
  </code></pre>
  
  <p><strong>How can I call this jQuery method on a standard string without using a selector?</strong> </p>
  
  <h2>Context</h2>
  
  <p>The plugin is my own, based on the <a href="http://docs.jquery.com/Plugins/Authoring#Maintaining_Chainability" rel="nofollow">jQuery Maintaining Chainability code sample here</a> and it wraps <a href="http://blog.stevenlevithan.com/archives/parseuri" rel="nofollow">this parseUri 1.2 JavaScript method</a>. </p>
  
  <p>I pasted my initial attempt here:
  <a href="http://jsfiddle.net/wyPKH/" rel="nofollow">http://jsfiddle.net/wyPKH/</a></p>
  
  <p>I was hoping to have a plugin version of the parseUri JavaScript method that can operate on both elements and plain strings in a consistent manner. </p>