var b_timer = null; // blink timer 
var b_on = true; // blink state 
var blnkrs = null; // array of spans 

function blinker() {
    var tmp = document.getElementsByTagName("span");
    if (tmp) {
        blnkrs = new Array();
        var b_count = 0;
        for (var i = 0; i < tmp.length; ++i) {
            if (tmp[i].className == "blink") {
                blnkrs[b_count] = tmp[i];
                ++b_count;
            }
        }
        // time in m.secs between blinks 
        // 500 = 1/2 second 
        blinkTimer(500);
    }
}

function blinkTimer(ival) {
    if (b_timer) {
        window.clearTimeout(b_timer);
        b_timer = null;
    }
    blinkIt();
    b_timer = window.setTimeout('blinkTimer(' + ival + ')', ival);
}

function blinkIt() {
    for (var i = 0; i < blnkrs.length; ++i) {
        if (b_on == true) {
            blnkrs[i].style.visibility = "hidden";
        }
        else {
            blnkrs[i].style.visibility = "visible";
        }
    }
    b_on = !b_on;
}