// set speed of banner (pause in milliseconds between characters)
var speed = 100 // decrease value to increase speed (must be positive)
// set pause between completion of message and beginning of following message
var pause = 1000 // increase value to increase pause
// set initial values
var timerID = null
var bannerRunning = false
// create global array
var ar = new Array()
// assign the strings to the array's elements
ar[0] = "These striper fishing pictures are a permanent part of Dan Barnett's Hall of Fame collection."
ar[1] = "I post the best catch or the largest striper fishing pictures in this section."
ar[2] = "Book a trip today and get your striper fishing picture posted here and assure your desired dates!" 
ar[3] = "My rates are economical!  The adventure is priceless!" 
// set index of first message to be displayed first
var currentMessage = 0
// set index of last character to be displayed first
var offset = 0
// stop the banner if it is currently running
function stopBanner() {
        // if banner is currently running
        if (bannerRunning)
                // stop the banner
                clearTimeout(timerID)
        // timer is now stopped
        bannerRunning = false
}
// start the banner
function startBanner() {
        // make sure the banner is stopped
        stopBanner()
        // start the banner from the current position
        showBanner()
}
// type-in the current message
function showBanner() {
        // assign current message to variable
        var text = ar[currentMessage]
        // if current message has not finished being displayed
        if (offset < text.length) {
                // if last character of current message is a space
                if (text.charAt(offset) == " ")
                        // skip the current character
                        offset++ 
                // assign the up-to-date to-be-displayed substring
                // second argument of method accepts index of last character plus one
                var partialMessage = text.substring(0, offset + 1) 
                // display partial message in status bar
                window.status = partialMessage
                // increment index of last character to be displayed
                offset++ // IE sometimes has trouble with "++offset"
                // recursive call after specified time
                timerID = setTimeout("showBanner()", speed)
                // banner is running
                bannerRunning = true
        } else {
                // reset offset
                offset = 0
                // increment subscript (index) of current message
                currentMessage++
                // if subscript of current message is out of range
                if (currentMessage == ar.length)
                        // wrap around (start from beginning)
                        currentMessage = 0
                // recursive call after specified time
                timerID = setTimeout("showBanner()", pause)
                // banner is running
                bannerRunning = true
        }
}
//