docs: def load_var_file(filename, obj):
      """Loads a varible file, processing it as a template"""
      rendered = render(filename, obj)
      ext = os.path.splitext(filename)[1][1:]
      v_obj = dict()
      if ext == 'json':
          v_obj = json.loads(rendered)
      elif ext == 'yaml' or ext == 'yml':
          v_obj = yaml.safe_load(rendered)
      else:
          LOG.warning("assuming yaml for unrecognized extension %s",
                      ext)
          v_obj = yaml.safe_load(rendered)
  
      return v_obj