December 17, 2020

I've been practicing writing small classified-type ads. It's fun. It also sharpens the blade. I am testing them on a subscriber list to see if they get any traction. If you want to see a few, let me know.

RankMath vs. Yoast SEO

I used to use the Yoast SEO plugin on my WordPress sites. Now, I'm slowly moving to RankMath Pro. I used the free version on a few sites and really liked it. So I ponied up and bought the pro version. So far, so good.

But I did run into a problem with it. WordPress was reporting it needed updating, and when I tried to update it, it failed, giving me the message, “Update package not available.“

Well, after 5 seconds of Google searching, I found the solution. If you're using RankMath, you may want to watch this video:

Getting this message? Update package not available. Watch this to the end.

That solved it. Instead of clicking “update,” just re-upload the files. WordPress will ask if you want to overwrite what's there–you do. Easy.

Digital Currency

Shifting gears…Bitcoin has gone through the roof. I think it passed $20,000 for the first time ever. It actually hit $23,770. Right after, it dropped 7 percent. Seems nuts.

So it's peaked again. Maybe. It could reverse the drop and just keep going up. Who knows. One may wonder, “Who cares?”

I don't know much about crypto currencies, but I do know that some major financial institutions have warmed up to the idea of a digital currency.

So keep watching if you like drama. It may be too late to get in. And it may not be a roller coaster ride you like.

Simplification

I'm thinking about doing some “minimalization” in my life, both personal and business. Things I'm considering:

• Selling and/or giving away most of the books I have on my bookshelf. Either replace them with digital versions or just do away with them. Probably some of both. Amazon is offering a free 60-day trial to Kindle Unlimited. I may give it a try.
• Selling stuff on various marketplaces (eBay, Facebook, Craigslist) that I should have sold before I moved the last six times. Carrying stuff around in boxes for 20+ years is beyond stupid. It costs in many ways.
• Reducing what I use in my business in terms of tools, plugins, programs, etc. Do I really need two VPNs? Do I need Dropbox, Google Drive, MS OneDrive, and Amazon (whatever they call theirs)? Do I need MS Office? Google offers pretty decent alternatives.
• I'm pretty good on clothing. I only wear jeans and tee shirts nowadays (shorts in the summer). I could get rid of some clothes I still have in boxes.
• What else?

Have a great day today. We'll talk tomorrow. I'm trying to establish a habit of daily blogging. This post was inspired by Scripting News, a blog that's been updated every day since 1994 (I think). Dave Winer even has an “uptime” clock in his footer; it's been running for 26 years! Subscribe to his list, but beware, he's pretty liberal and doesn't mince words. But he is a tech pioneer (he IS the guy who created the podcast and was instrumental in creating blogging and RSS).

The article was originally published here!