WordPress
A WP_Query that does not query twice
no_found_rows is the flag that matters, and the cache flags are the ones people cargo-cult wrong.
PHP
Tooling
Estimating reading time is fine even when it is wrong
The number does not have to be accurate to be useful. It has to be honest about what it is counting.
Tooling
Running WP-CLI against a Local site on Windows
Local ships a PHP CLI with no php.ini. Three small shims fix it without touching the install.