/* 'required' field validation */
function validate(el)
{
  if(el.val() == '')
  {
    if(!el.next().is('span')) el.after('<span style="color:Red;"> required</span>');
    return 1;
  }
  else if(el.next().is('span')) { el.next().remove(); }
  return 0;
}
/* date format MM-dd-yyyy validation */
function validateDate(el)
{
  var value = el.val().match(/^(\d{2,2})-(\d{2,2})-(\d{4,4})$/);
  if(!value)
  {
    if(!el.next().is('span')) el.after('<span style="color:Red;"> not valid</span>');
    return 1;
  }
  else if(el.next().is('span')) { el.next().remove(); }
  return 0;
}