function slideSwitch() {
                var $active = $('#slideshow DIV.active');
                if ( $active.length == 0 ) $active = $('#slideshow DIV:last');
            
                // use this to pull the divs in the order they appear in the markup
                var $next =  $active.next().length ? $active.next()
                    : $('#slideshow DIV:first');
                // uncomment below to pull the divs randomly
                // var $sibs  = $active.siblings();
                // var rndNum = Math.floor(Math.random() * $sibs.length );
                // var $next  = $( $sibs[ rndNum ] );
                $active.addClass('last-active');
                $next.css({opacity: 0.0})
                    .addClass('active')
                    .animate({opacity: 1.0}, 1000, function() {
                        $active.removeClass('active last-active');
                    });
            }
            $(function() {
                setInterval( "slideSwitch()", 5000 );
            });