Category: Blog

The 10-Second Like

By Tippy Gnu on December 27, 2021 • ( 42 Comments )

I like most every comment people make on my blog. At least for 10 seconds. After I read a comment, I usually hit the “Like” button. Then a white star below the comment turns blue, and the word “Like” changes to “Liked.” For 10 seconds. And then WordPress plays a trick on me. After 10 seconds, the blue star turns white again, and the “Liked,” turns back to “Like.”

I suspect it may be a bug in WP’s programming. I noticed it a few months ago, and since then I’ve patiently tolerated it, with occasional smoke pouring out of my ears, while expecting WP to fix this bug soon. But so far they haven’t fixed it. So lately I’ve been wondering if the programmers really want our likes to go away. Maybe WP doesn’t like us to like each other.

It doesn’t happen to posts. When I like someone’s post, my “Liked” remains a “Liked,” unless I decide, “meh, on the other hand, I’m gonna dislike this featherbrained post.” No, it only happens with comments. It’s crazy and confusing. So I did some playing around with liking comments, to figure out the scope of this issue, and what I can do about it. Here’s what I discovered:

It only happens when I’m on my own blog. It doesn’t happen when I’m on someone else’s blog and like a comment. There, the like remains “Liked.”
After I like a comment, and the “Liked” reverts back to “Like,” I can re-like the comment, and then the “Liked” remains permanent.
If the “Liked” reverts back to “Like,” and then I type a reply to the comment and hit “Send,” the “Like” returns to “Liked,” and remains permanent. Weird.
If I type a reply to a comment and hit “Send,” and then like the comment, the “Liked,” will revert back to “Like,” after 10 seconds.
If I unlike a comment, and then like it again, the “Liked” reverts back to “Like” after 10 seconds. And then I have to like it once more, to make “Liked” permanent.

I want to know if this bullshit has been happening to others, also. It’s easy not to notice, so you have to pay attention after liking someone’s comment. You have to hang around for 10 seconds, and watch what happens to your “Liked,” and I suspect a lot of bloggers are in too much of a hurry to do this. So, unbeknownst to them, their likes of comments are not going through, and not providing the positive feedback they hope their followers are receiving.

I feel annoyed, but it’s a minor annoyance. I’ve figured out a somewhat inconvenient workaround. If I have a bunch of unread comments stacked up, I go through and like each one, without reading them. Then I go back through again. By this time, all the “Liked” indicators have reverted back to “Like.” Then I read each comment. If I like a comment (which I almost always will), I hit the “Like” button again, and this time the “Liked” will remain permanent.

But it’s a pain in the ass. I dislike all this liking. I dislike liking, only to be disliking and having to like again. Come on, WP, get it together! Don’t you want us to like each other?

Chasing New Unicorns

By Tippy Gnu on October 6, 2021 • ( 70 Comments )

Life is change, so if I want to keep this blog alive I need to change things up now and then. So I’ve found some new unicorns to chase.

Over the past few years I’ve been stealing quotes, and using them on days when I don’t have any other bullshit to post about. Which is most days. But too many stolen quotes can get about as old as the people I often steal from. So I’ve decided to create several new categories of filler posts, just to break things up and add variety to my bullshit.

This is all a work in progress. I believe in evolution, because I’m too lazy to be creative. So I’ll just let things evolve over time. But for now, here are some additional types of filler posts I’m considering, for your amusement:

Dumb Joke Day.
My Stupid Thought For the Day.
Cheeseburger Grilling Tips.
Weird Word Day.
Conversation Starters for Hitchhikers.
And maybe I’ll throw in a “Who the Hell Am I” game a little more often.

If you have any ideas you can add to this, please let me know. My legs get tired when I’m the only one who catches unicorns around here.

I’m not planning these new posts for any particular day of the week, such as something like, “Weird Word Wednesday.” No, that would be too weird. Besides, it would require too much commitment for a lazy blogger like me. These posts will just happen when they happen, appearing as if from thin air, with no rhyme or reason as to why. After all, that’s the nature of unicorns.

By the way, don’t worry, you quote lovers, Stolen Quote has not gone away completely. I love stealing quotes. I love it when someone else does the work and all I have to do is exercise my light fingers. So I’ll still be fencing purloined quotes on this blog every now and then. Just less often.

If you don’t like these changes, go ahead and pelt me with rotten eggs and tomatoes. You could catch me at a hungry moment.

But in the meantime, let’s jump out of a rut. Let’s turn over a new leaf. Let’s shake things up and blaze a new trail. Yes, let’s stop being so hackneyed and predictable. We must if we want to stay alive. Never forget that the real test for us unicorn chasers is how well we can handle change.

So starting tomorrow we’ll be putting on our running shoes, grabbing a lasso, and chasing after some new, one-horned beasts of an unfamiliar color, that have wandered into our forest.

Unicorns of an unfamiliar color are coming our way.

The Unicorn Clarified

By Tippy Gnu on April 9, 2021 • ( 36 Comments )

Today is National Unicorn Day, which is always a day of celebration for my blog. I wish everyone a Happy Unicorn Day! And may we all be very successful catching unicorns today, and every day.

Newcomers to this blog may wonder what I mean by “unicorn,” and sometimes I worry they may get the wrong idea. So be advised, newbies, that I define a unicorn as anything that is unique. There are many other definitions that are quite valid elsewhere, but not here.

For instance, there’s the classic definition, of the mythical beast with one horn. And in fact, I use that beast as a symbol for uniqueness. But it’s just a symbol. It isn’t the uniqueness itself.

Other animals have also been called unicorns. For instance, there’s the Hercules beetle, which has a horn-like prominence on its head. And then there’s the Schizura unicornis caterpillar, which has a large horn sticking out of it’s back, near it’s head. And as for flying unicorns, there’s the Kamichi, or Unicorn Bird (also known as a Horned Screamer).

As for swimming unicorns, in the Arctic sea we have the narwhal, which has a single-horned tusk sticking out of it’s forehead. During medieval times, these tusks were often passed off as unicorn horns, and were considered to have magical properties.

In the swinger world, a unicorn is a polyamorous woman who loves threesomes, as such women are considered to be very rare.

Given that unicorns are often associated with rainbows, the unicorn has become a symbol of the LGBT+ community.

The unicorn label has been applied to a person with three or more skills, in a new field of expertise, or to any exceptional employee with rare qualities, just due to the rareness of such a worker.

And in finance, a unicorn is a startup company with a valuation of over one billion dollars, that has not gone public yet.

This is just a small sampling of the many ways the term “unicorn” has been bandied about. It seems to be a very versatile word.

Therefore, for the sake of clarity, let me emphasize that this blog is not about exotic animals, polyamorous women, the LGBT+ community, skilled employees, startup companies, or anything else, except where that thing is rare, novel, unusual, weird, odd, unheard-of, or otherwise unique.

So here’s wishing everyone many unique and enjoyable experiences on this National Unicorn Day!