original vs stolen blog content: which is it?

First of all, blogging about blogging is something I swore I'd never do. Too cliche, too weird, too much of a novice to claim to be an expert. And I'm a firm believer that with blogging (like with all types of authorship), rule number one is that there are no rules.

That being said, I'm going to talk about what I swore I wouldn't :) Let's talk about the rules and guidelines of blogging for a little bit. One rule in particular.

I have a dilemma. I'll get a great post or series idea, only to have someone else beat me to the punch. I have this good original idea, but then during the time it takes me to take the pictures or make the graphic or write the post, it pops up on someone else's blog. (Whyyy, that someone else, whyyyyy??) 

What should you do when that happens?

Do you post it anyway and run the risk of looking like a copycat?

Do you delete it and never share that great idea?

Do you ask the person for permission to post just because it's a similar topic?

Do you take it as a sign that your content's not original enough and throw it out?

via

I personally err on the side of publishing my content anyway. One could argue that, in this age with two million blog posts published each day (source), truly original content is few and far between. I also make sure, if a similar post has been published recently, that mine looks and reads differently. 

That being said, there's a cute blogger out there who redid her blog design to almost match exactly my last blog design. It was kind of cute, and funny, and weird all at the same time. And it would have been less weird if she had left a comment saying that my design inspired her to redo her blog, or linked to me saying she got her ideas from me, or something. Unless she came up with the exact same color schemes and ideas independent of my blog?

Confessions: I have saved drafts similar to this, this, and this post by some of my favorite bloggers. They're all done and ready, but I haven't published them because I don't want to look like I'm copying.

I want to hear your take. 
Is there an unspoken rule about posting something similar to what a fellow blogger posts? 
Has someone posted a "copycat" post after you did, and how did you feel about it? 
I'd love your input!