мини таймер
<p id="countdown"><span></span></p>
<script>
var countdown = $('#countdown span'),
timer;
function startCountdown(){
var startFrom = 5;
countdown.text(startFrom).parent('p').show();
timer = setInterval(function(){
countdown.text(--startFrom);
if(startFrom <= 0) {
clearInterval(timer);
countdown.text('грузим!');
}
},1000);
}
</script>