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()", 6000);
        });