topdown magazine

Archives of Posts to the NZ MX5 List back in 2005
Mike Jolley

topdown magazine

Post by Mike Jolley » Fri Apr 15, 2005 9:02 pm

ANYONE NOTICED THE TOPDOWN MAGAZINE HAS BEEN A BIT HO HUM LATLY?
HOW ABOUT QUARTERLY EDITIONS WITH MORE QUALITY ARTICLES AND INFO WITH SAVINGS
ON LESS ISSUES?
WHY ARE THE PHOTOS OUT OF FOCUS AND PIXILATED ALL THE TIME?
THERES SOME COMMENTS FOR THOUGHT.AND LET ME SAY I KNOW MAGZINES ARE AS GOOD AS
MEMBERS CONTRIBUTE,AND THE PEOPLE INVOLVED WITH GETTING MAG OUT GIVE 110% AND
DO A GOOD JOB,I AM NOT KNOCKING THOSE PEOPLE WHO GENEROUSLY GIVE THERE TIME TO
THE CLUB AND MAGAZINE ,JUST THROWING IDEAS AROUND, MIKE

Michael & Kate Cooper

topdown magazine

Post by Michael & Kate Cooper » Fri Apr 15, 2005 10:01 pm

We actually had a nosey at the latest mag just now, and think the photo's look
just fine - the only one I could see that was out of focus was an
advertisement - which is probably to do with the quality of what was
supplied.

I guess, when compared with the Miata Magazine that we used to get, it would
be not as useful with regard to articles and things MX5-related, but there's
no way you can compare the two - the Miata Mag had a HUGE circulation and was
a company in itself; as opposed to normal people with day jobs trying to get
the TopDown produced as well as running their everyday lives. I quite enjoy
the personal feel that comes with having articles submitted by fellow Kiwi
MX5'ers.

Kate & Michael Cooper

Graeme H

topdown magazine

Post by Graeme H » Fri Apr 15, 2005 10:36 pm

Personally, I love it. It's a great mag, and worthy of some excellent praise. Believe me, I know how difficult it is to produce an interesting piece of MX5 literature every month.
People are loathe to offer their input, but expect to be thrilled every time.
I used to write a monthly newsletter for a region in the UKOC, and that was just 2 sides. Luckily we had lots of events, but I did have to flannel a bit, some months.
Nigel Every and others, do all of the writing, editing, preparing and stuffing into envelopes in their spare time (Nigel does most of this himself I believe, but please correct me if I'm wrong) so we can't really complain if it's not what we want.
There was quote that said "You can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you'll never please all of the people all of the time". Creating a mag and running a club is a bit like that, and it does get hard sometimes (oo-er, missus). Let's ensure that all of the committee , coordinators and editors are aware of just how much we appreciate their efforts.

Cheers

Graeme H


[...]

EricW
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topdown magazine

Post by EricW » Fri Apr 15, 2005 11:04 pm

There's nothing wrong with "Top Down"! Where else can you, for 40 bucks, get a
year's subscription to a magazine devoted to topless models!

I'm not sure what Nigel does as a profession, but he does a pretty
professional job of getting our mag out.

I'm sure it could be improved of course, One of the best ways to help improve
it is to contribute an article, so Nigel has some good quality stuff to choose
from when setting it up. You are dead right, the mag is as good as those who
contribute to it, so the solution is obvious!

Regards

Eric

Keith Cook

topdown magazine

Post by Keith Cook » Sat Apr 16, 2005 12:30 am

Don't "shout" just write. (In lower case of course)

Mike Jolley wrote:

[...]

[...]

Grant
Need, more, 5-ing, time....
Need, more, 5-ing, time....
Posts: 175
Joined: Thu May 18, 2006 9:41 pm
Location: Sunny Blenheim

topdown magazine

Post by Grant » Sat Apr 16, 2005 8:03 am

I am very happy with the content and quality of the magazine. For what we
pay, the volunteers who put all the hard work into producing it do an
excellent job. The quality of the photos would be purely due to what is sent
to the editor. Most are probably emailed and some are obviously quite low
resolution. Still, this is better than no photos! You don't need a top
quality camera to produce quite useable photos. My photo on the back page
this last issue was taken using a three year old Fuji 2Mp digital camera.
I like to read about other people's cars and the various events held around
the country. All you organisers out there, take a leaf out of the Allport's
of Nelson (for example) book and send more event reports in. These help
others organising events in their areas and gives them ideas of what to do.
There have been some simple technical articles as well that have been
appreciated such as the diode mod. for flashing the headlights.
The only thing annoying me at present is deciphering a couple of the
personlised plates in this issue!
Two months is a long delay for my magazine fix. I wouldn't like to see it
extended to three months.
Grant.
Red 2006 NC Tiptronic
FIX A PC

MX5PWR
Need, more, 5-ing, time....
Need, more, 5-ing, time....
Posts: 127
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Location: Auckland

topdown magazine

Post by MX5PWR » Sat Apr 16, 2005 8:19 am

Mike,
I look forward to your quality contributions, articles, photos etc for the
next mag. It may save me some of the 20-30 hrs an edition it put into it in my
own time.
I am always asking for contributions, and having now produced the last 11
issues I am running out of fresh ideas and would appreciate anything you would
like included.
I would have preferred that you had sent your comments direct to
topdown@mx5club.org.nz rather than having shouted them on this forum (or are
you not aware of email etiquette with regard to capitals).
Now I will go and try and enjoy my very strong coffee and count to 10.

Ed of topdown

From conf@waipunahotel.co.nz Fri Apr 27 17:07:02 2007
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Hiya Nigel,

See my 10 cents worth at topdown address.

Nix

Mike Jolley

topdown magazine

Post by Mike Jolley » Sat Apr 16, 2005 9:58 am

Hope you enjoyed the coffee Nigel. If people read my piece carefully it is
aimed at getting contributions! You will note i say i am not knocking the hard
work that goes into the mag and i mention the 110% devotion of those producing
it.I still do the vintage bike magazine ,,monthly and for 14 yaers,so i do
know the hardships.So lets get some articles going for our magazine.(hope to
contribute when father in law passes on)
mike

joanie
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Posts: 109
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topdown magazine

Post by joanie » Sat Apr 16, 2005 10:44 am

As the current editors of the AROC (Alfa Romeo Owners Club) mag we know just
how difficult it is to get something out the door each month. We rely on
members to contribute interesting articles on time!
Topdown has plenty of reports of happenings round the country, and that's
what most people like to read about, along with the odd tech article thrown
in or a bit of history.
I think Topdown has the mix about right!
However I do agree that often the photos in Topdown are of poor quality, but
I would guess this is a result of the raw material supplied to the editor.
It takes an awful lot of time to search out high quality pics on the net to
match articles if those supplied are not up to the mark.
I say keep up the good work "ed" and when WE manage to rid ourselves of the
AROC job maybe we will have time to write an MX5 yarn or two for Topdown
:-)
Joan H

Simon Lord
See my 5 and raise you.
See my 5 and raise you.
Posts: 98
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2006 1:09 pm
Location: Albany

topdown magazine

Post by Simon Lord » Sat Apr 16, 2005 1:00 pm

As a professional publisher who makes his living out of producing a quarterly
magazine, perhaps I might be allowed to comment.

I don't think Mike was intending to carp, but I am totally astounded by the
quality of the Topdown magazine that is delivered to me on a regular basis for
a remarkably small subscription fee. It is content-rich, advertising light and
does an excellent job of mixing event report, technical information and news.
As is often the case in NZ, it is way above its league in professionalism
considering the size of the market to which it appeals.

I understand very well the problems that Nigel faces each time. In producing
Franchise New Zealand magazine, many of our photographs are contributed by
advertisers. All too often they are of poor quality or, worse, taken by
digital cameras which are of far too low a resolution to be useable in print
reproduction. If you don't have at least a 5 megapixel camera, forget it
unless you want your photo to be used thumbnail size. Don't even think of
using a mobile phone. I have these problems with supposedly professional
advertisers who are paying money for the space - what Nigel goes through I
hate to think...

Much the same can be said of the articles. If you want a publication full of
well-crafted, perfectly-spelled articles, go out and buy a
professionally-produced and paid-for magazine. If you want something regular
that tells you what is going on and shares some of the fun of MX5 ownership,
Nigel is doing a fantastic job. I know only too well the difficulty of coming
up with new idea, Nigel - I am in my 14th year on the same topic now, and I
think you are doing a great job.

Once I can drive again (dicky ankle), I will set up a front cover shot for you
of my SPARKLE GREEN car so at least you don't have to worry about that for the
next issue. And the one after that you can fill with the comments of all the
people who say 'what a lovely/horrible/unusual/different colour for an MX5'.

Keep up the good work

Simon

From milfordautoelectrical@yahoo.com Fri Apr 27 17:06:59 2007
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Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2005 00:17:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: Milford Autoelectrical <milfordautoelectrical@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: parts
To: MX5List <mx5list@mx5club.org.nz>
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Hi,

I am not wrecking a mx-5 BUT I do have the 1.8L front brake set up with brand new (never been used) DBA slotted, x-drilled, vented rotors and brand new genuine mazda pads.

If its any good to you, let me know

Steve
Plan great trips with Yahoo! Travel: Now over 17,000 guides!
97 SR Ltd (sparkle green)
Email: simon@franchise.co.nz

Vince
See my 5 and raise you.
See my 5 and raise you.
Posts: 99
Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 6:57 pm

topdown magazine

Post by Vince » Sun Apr 17, 2005 9:32 pm

Mike, your comments probably should have gone directly to the magazine editor
for his opportunity to reply, rather than to this list. The magazine
publishing as well as the organisation of the club is done as I understand it,
on a voluntary basis by club members who all have full time jobs as well as
busy lives just like the rest of us. Without these volunteers we would'nt have
a magazine or an organisation, so these people should be commended for the
effort they put in.
The magazine is produced pretty much entirely by Nigel and and he does a
brilliant job to get a 24 page mag out every two months. I'm involved with
another organisation's magazine and to get out a bi-monthly mag thats only two
thirds the size of TopDown, our editor alone puts in about 50 hours per issue,
that's not including anyone elses contribution. Sure sometimes the photos in
TopDown are a bit grainy, but that's probably a reflection of the quality of
submitted material, once again done by volunteers. If you think the magazine
needs improving, maybe you could make an effort and write some articles to
make it less Ho Hum!
Vince

poison
Keep calm, Forum Moderator here.
Keep calm, Forum Moderator here.
Posts: 530
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2006 7:47 pm
Location: JAFA Land

topdown magazine

Post by poison » Sun Apr 17, 2005 10:39 pm

I must admit to being amazed about how professional the magazine looked, when
zorruno suggested I join the club one of the benefits was the magazine. I
though wow, another photocopied staple together, but when the magazine
arrived... awesome, I mean if this came out on the shelf monthly I wouldn't
blink at 5 or so bucks an issue.

And it wasn't until after I had been to Nigel's place I found out he did the
magazine himself. I was am still am pretty surprised he could have a full time
job and manage to achieve this too.

In Mike's defence I thought his comments were aimed at us all, that do we all
need to get in behind our magazine and contribute. No matter how trivial our
little story or experience may seem, it will no doubt appeal to someone as we
all have the same cars after all.

I just want to say thanks Nigel for a truly impressive effort. This is
probably a good reminder for us all about the efforts some people make to make
this club great for the rest of us.

Thanks all

Gazza
"PO1SON"
:twisted: Gazda in the white HOT Mazda :twisted:

Mike Jolley

topdown magazine

Post by Mike Jolley » Mon Apr 18, 2005 6:56 am

Gazza,you hit the nail on the head.Nigel does a great job with the limited
resources from 500 members.Mike

Mike Jolley

topdown magazine

Post by Mike Jolley » Mon Apr 18, 2005 7:02 am

My comments went out to gee up members to submit material for Nigel.Not to
criticise Nigel.I own a printing company so do know a little about magazines
and as i said have been doing a Monthly vintage newsletter for 14 years,and
know how hard it is and would and did not blame the editor.Mike

Graeme H

topdown magazine

Post by Graeme H » Mon Apr 18, 2005 12:38 pm

Hi Mike
we know what you were getting at, it just looked a bit like a poke at the mag. At least you achieved the objective and managed to make people sit up and think about what comes through the door every other month, instead of just taking it for granted.
I love this forum, it incites conversation and objective views (I'm off now to go lie in a darkened room for an hour :0)

Cheers

Graeme H

[...]

Fiona Brown

topdown magazine

Post by Fiona Brown » Mon Apr 18, 2005 6:44 pm

Hi Mike

Thanks for your feedback, I work alongside Nigel to get the magazine
done - he gets the articles to me and I put the magazine together. Yes
there quite often are pixelated photos but as Vince said, that's what
people supply. The people who contribute to the magazine, who write
the articles and who supply their photos, like to see it all in print
so we're not going to leave them out because they're slightly fuzzy -
after all, if we did that there wouldn't be a lot in there!

Maybe you could share some of your 14 years experience with us, and
write an article or two?


[...]

Keith Cook

topdown magazine

Post by Keith Cook » Mon Apr 18, 2005 8:31 pm

Interesting to read all this. I went to some trouble to write and take
photos of a simple device to keep your boot cover on at speed. I know
this is a problem not only I have experienced as I have seen other
remedies in the Miata pages. Perhaps mine was too juvenile. Whatever
the reason it has not been published. Can't be too hard to collect
content after all.

Fiona Brown wrote:

[...]

MX5PWR
Need, more, 5-ing, time....
Need, more, 5-ing, time....
Posts: 127
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 6:32 pm
Location: Auckland

topdown magazine

Post by MX5PWR » Mon Apr 18, 2005 9:01 pm

Hi Keith,
when did you send the photos and article as I do not recall seeing them?.
If you sent it by email, there are the odd times when my emailbox with xtra
is full due to the large number and size of files sent, and can therefore not
take any further content.
If you would like to resend I will include in the June edition. (anything sent
to topdown@MX5club goes to my xtra mailbox)

Regards Nigel

Graeme H

topdown magazine

Post by Graeme H » Mon Apr 18, 2005 9:34 pm

And so it begins... This is one of the reasons that coordinators eventually step down from their positions, and bad feeling is created
Please, if anyone has got a gripe with the club, could they direct it toward the relevant committee member first and not the forum?

Thanks

Graeme H


[...]

Keith Cook

topdown magazine

Post by Keith Cook » Tue Apr 19, 2005 9:53 am

Itwas some time back now before Xmas. Probably trashed it by now but
will have a look to see if I can find it.
Cheers

Nigel Every wrote:

[...]

SLYDIT
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topdown magazine

Post by SLYDIT » Wed Apr 20, 2005 5:40 pm

Well I dont know about you guys.. but to me that cover
photo is very out of focus. (No-bifocals here folks!)
However, like others have mentioned Nigel and the team
put in lots of (Unpaid) hours producing it, so i guess
ill let them off just this once...
Although it could look even better with a red car
with gold wheels on the cover, a bit like...oh
thats right ... MY CAR!
:) :) :)


Glenn "SLYDIT"
http://miata.cardomain.com/id/supasparky
Currently building a DIY Turbo..Subaru VF10 Turbo, Weld el manifold, 2.5"exhaust,subaru BOV, Isuzu intercooler, 330cc GTX injectors, dual feed fuel rail,RX7 air flow meter, Greddy Emanage piggy back computor.Custom full length cold air box...YEEEEEHHHAAA
Hopefully finished by summer:)
RED '90 TURBO.
SCARING PRIUS DRIVERS SINCE 2002

Keith Cook

topdown magazine

Post by Keith Cook » Wed Apr 20, 2005 5:53 pm

Gold wheels!!?? How tacky!

glenn roberts wrote:

[...]

[...]

peter
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Need, more, 5-ing, time....
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topdown magazine

Post by peter » Wed Apr 20, 2005 6:26 pm

at least it's not green with gold wheels...


Peter
DRGN-1

Mike Jolley

topdown magazine

Post by Mike Jolley » Thu Apr 21, 2005 6:58 am

AND YOUR S IS BLUE BUT NOT THE DRIVERS.GOOD TO SEE YOU DOWN ASH ST EACH
MORNING STILL WITH THE TOP DOWN=A REAL MX 5r. IM IN THE BLACK PRINTERS VAN
STEERING AT YOU(NOT YOUR GOOD LADY ,HONEST) MIKE

poison
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topdown magazine

Post by poison » Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:53 am

Mike

If you are in any way associated with the printing industry,
you'd kind of think... YOU'D WORK OUT HOW TO TURN OFF YOUR
CAPS LOCK...

Cheers

Gazza
"PO1SON"


[...]

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will you guys stop ragg'n Mike about his caps lock - I'm more concerned that he was "steering" at Peter... :o)
:twisted: Gazda in the white HOT Mazda :twisted:

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