gor[b] Paul Gorbould: Words and Pictures

1. 

   MC
   November 24th, 2006 - 17:25

   I wear out clothes in oddly consistent ways yes.
2. 

   MC
   November 25th, 2006 - 19:47

   This may sound strange, but Bloglines hasn’t been picking up your feed for a while for me and I am wondering if I am alone in this.
3. 

   alison
   November 26th, 2006 - 11:11

   There’s an Ani Difranco song that goes “I am looking for the holes – the holes in your jeans – because I want to know – if they’re worn out in the seat or worn out in the knees.” You can guess the class implications there. But internet elbow, that’s a new one.

   For record, i wear holes in the thighs. That could mean that I’m fat, but I prefer to chalk it up to always being on the move.
4. 

   alison
   November 26th, 2006 - 11:12

   Oh, and Jason chimes in proudly that he always wears the crotch out of his jeans first.
5. 

   Paul Gorbould
   November 27th, 2006 - 11:06

   MC: That’s very odd – I just checked my Bloglines, and it hasn’t updated since my Raccoon Proofing piece 10 days ago! Is this what it shows for you?

   I see there’s a red [!] error flag for the feed in bloglines, with the details as follows:

   “The feed URL returns a page that does not look like an RSS feed. This can be caused by the feed URL being incorrect, or it can be caused by a configuration issue with the server hosting the feed. If this error continues, you should check the feed URL and, if it is wrong, subscribe to the correct URL.”

   Not sure what this is all about. I tried unsubscribing and resubscribing with no change, and I tried using the original feed URL (http://www.gorbould.com/blog/index.php/feed/) but this didn’t help either. The feed works fine in Google Reader and My Yahoo – what is Bloglines’ damage?

   Alison: I’ve never worn out thighs, but many crotches. My own, I should specify.
6. 

   alison
   November 27th, 2006 - 14:35

   1) i’m glad you specified.

   2) good god. is there any way to disable those smileys?
7. 

   Paul Gorbould
   November 28th, 2006 - 03:18

   Alison: Not that I’m aware of. Deal.
   MC: Bloglines seems to be working again, for me. You?
8. 

   MC
   November 29th, 2006 - 04:05

   Yes it is.
9. 

   Christy
   March 16th, 2007 - 11:46

   OMG I have the exact same problem and I was starting to blame my drycleaners until I finally busted through an elbow real time while I was wearing it!

   I have had several sweaters and shirts come back from the drycleaners with holes in the left elbow. I changed drycleaners twice and it kept happening. Just last week I was sitting here in a long sleeve shirt and I put my left elbow up on my desk (as I apparently do a lot) and felt cold desk and though – hmmm. I looked and sure enough – brand new hole poking through. So sad.

   So I went home and closely examined all of my long sleeve shirts and sure enough if you look closely, the elbow is thinner. So now I’m making an effort to not sit with my left elbow propped up on my desk so much.
10. 

    Paul Gorbould
    March 20th, 2007 - 00:34

    Christy, thank god you dropped by. I was beginning to think I was alone in this and some sort of freak (not that I’ve ruled that out…) Although, from checking my stats, I do get one or two people a week you come here from a Google search on “worn out elbows” – but they don’t stay, and don’t leave a comment.

    I’ll have to try to stay aware of whether or not I prop my left arm up on the desk. I didn’t think that was something I do, but it’s possible. It seems more likely to me that it’s from the arm rest of my chair – the right hand is over on the mouse, so it’s usually off the armrest.

    Are you right handed, and use a computer a lot?
11. 

    Rob Jarrett
    March 28th, 2007 - 05:47

    Hi, i have this problem, however, i usually get it on my right sleeve. I used to work in an office in Canary wharf, London, and there this consistently happened (on a monthly basis) then i moved jobs and worked in a different office in the city of london. For nearly three years, nothing, no rips and everything was going well. Changed jobs again, and now back working in Canary Wharf, and hey presto, within 4 months of being back in this area of London, i have had 2 shirts ruined. Now i am not saying the reason for my shirts riping is geographical, but it could be something to do with detergents used by cleaners in my office. I am not sure whether anyone on this thread is aware, but Canary Wharf buildings are maintained all by one company, which i would assume use the same cleaning products, so there is my thoery, cleaing products on desks.

    (By the way, Right hand user, so cannot understand the whole left sleeve/right sleeve difference)
12. 

    Paul Gorbould
    March 28th, 2007 - 16:24

    Hmm, that’s a puzzler – you are right handed and it happens on your right sleeve? Odd.

    From e-mailing Christy, above, we discovered that we’re both right handed and use a computer all day, sitting in the bend of an L-shaped desk. So to me that would make sense – right hand on the mouse, left elbow resting on the desk.

    Doesn’t explain your case, though. They never clean our desks, so it isn’t a cleaning product, and I don’t dryclean my clothes (Christy’s theory.)

    I think it has to be a computer-use related wear and tear issue… I wonder how I could test that out?
13. 

    Davey c
    April 3rd, 2007 - 06:08

    Hi
    I have the problem with the Elbow holes too, I am left handed but have all the holes in my shirts on the Right side always in the same place, At first I thought it was a mott but then thought he would want to be extremely clever to make a hole in the same place all the time, then i thought I was a freak walking around with holes in my shirts without even a clue that I had them, Its very annoying, cause some of the shirts were quiet expensive and you like to wear them alot and then your so annoyed that you cant cause of the hole which always get bigger,so is it that the clothes are too small, or made smaller from the dryer, or is it the way i put my right elbow always on the desk? any tipps would be appreciated,
14. 

    Paul Gorbould
    April 3rd, 2007 - 09:27

    Hi Davey,

    It sounds to me like you are in the same boat as me and Christy – it’s your non-mousing elbow that wears out. I have to think this is the culprit, and is probably pretty common. I should talk to an ergonomist about what to do about it (actually, I know one, so maybe I really will!)

    I share your frustration, though – I’ve thrown out 5 or 6 really nice shirts that were in perfect condition except for a dime-sized hole in the left elbow. Argh!

    Paul
15. 

    andy
    April 4th, 2007 - 08:54

    the internet is truly amazing. i needed some info on my worn out shirt sleeves, and what do you know… someone has made a blog about it.

    well, from the comments i’ve read, it looks like my problem is the way i sit at work. my computer and keyboard are just too far away, causing me to lean-over, thus creating friction of my left arm with the edge of my desk, and hence causing little god-damn holes in my shirt sleeve.

    these little holes, they’re like signals, you know. signals that computers are literally tearing us apart.

    thank you internet, and thank you paul.
16. 

    Vivian
    April 5th, 2007 - 03:25

    Nicholson Baker’s wonderful first book, The Mezzanine, has long, delightful, clever passages in which the protagonist muses on the fact that his shoelaces have worn out within days of each other. You are now part of a rich culture of literary people who ponder the intricacies of friction and circumstance!
17. 

    greg
    April 16th, 2007 - 10:46

    Well, I’m a victim too. And two of my office mates have the same symptoms: holes in the left elbows of our shirts. Sometimes my elbow even gets sore. I’ve found myself using an old padded envelope under my left elbow for relief…

    We’re graphic designers and we all use a mouse in our right hand and we sit at bean-shaped desks.

    too funny… maybe I’ll start wearing padded rugby shirts!
18. 

    Paul Gorbould
    April 16th, 2007 - 11:23

    Thanks for commiserating, Greg!

    As an update to this story, I’m delighted to tell you that this Thursday, our corporate ergonomist is coming to take a look at my workstation, and give me an official take on what’s going on with my elbow.

    I’ll definitely be blogging about that!
19. 

    Raf
    April 25th, 2007 - 07:58

    Can we formally credit MC for coining the term “Internet Elbow”? Many of my shirts have suffered from this epidemic. I have talked to co-workers, all who have had shirts face a similar fate. We thought it was a combination of resting elbows on arm rests or desks PLUS the dry cleaners, but it appears that it also happens with people that don’t dry clean!
    Great post – thanks Paul for shedding light on an ever growing problem!
20. 

    Paul Gorbould
    April 25th, 2007 - 14:24

    You’re welcome – and in for a treat. This week I had a visit from Ye Official CBC Ergonomist, to talk about this very problem! Answers coming shortly.
21. 

    mouseman
    May 17th, 2007 - 21:44

    Sweet article. nice job.
22. 

    Steve
    February 5th, 2008 - 17:55

    I have for 2 years been wearing out long sleeve shirts with my left elbow. The skin on my left elbow gets very rough like sandpaper. I can wear out a long sleeve shirt in one day.

    I tried a lot of things. If I wear short sleeve shirts the skin on the left elbow gets rougher.

    My best present solution is buying a 2″ wide roll of breathable cloth tape sold at most Drug Stores. Oddly enough this tape barely sticks to itself but adheres in a 2″x2″ patch to my elbow tenaciously, I can even shower and the tape remains. The tape softens and maybe heals the rough elbow and no more ripped shirts.
23. 

    Matt
    February 27th, 2008 - 15:07

    Hey All, guess what happened to me today? That’s right, my 5th shirt ruined this year by a hole in my right elbow. I’m lefty and use my right hand for the mouse at work. I never feel the shirt rip but find out when I put my elbow on the desk and get a cold feeling. what to do now? Spend another $75 on a shirt? I usually purchase my dress shirts at Joseph A Bank and every time this happens, they exchange it for free. You guys should try this. It might just work.
24. 

    Michelle
    May 2nd, 2008 - 20:45

    I am left handed and used the mouse righty. My right arm was aching badly so I switched the mouse to my left hand. Since then I have gone through four shirts with a hole in the left elbow. It never happened when i used the mouse right handed. I have two fairly new shirts, I discovered a hole in the elbow today, came home looked at the other one and yep, a tiny hole.
    I think I will start putting a band aid on my elbow, or switch the mouse back to right hand, but then I deal with pain! Can’t win!
25. 

    Arregodes
    May 5th, 2008 - 17:59

    Money isn’t everything — but it’s a long way ahead of what comes next.
    – Sir Edmond Stockdale

    —————————————————————————————————-
    http://antoinehickmankz.easyjournal.com

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