function floatval(mixed_var) {	// + original by: Michael White (http://crestidg.com)
	// %		note 1: The native parseFloat() method of JavaScript returns NaN when it encounters a string before an int or float value.
	return (parseFloat(mixed_var) || 0);
}

floatval('150.03_page-section');

floatval('page: 3');

floatval('-50 + 8');