Editing 2670: Interruption

{{comic
| number    = 2670
| date      = September 9, 2022
| title     = Interruption
| image     = interruption.png
| titletext = It's been extra bad ever since my GPS got stuck on Phoebe Judge mode.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GPS VOICE SYNTHESIZER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is about listening to a {{w|podcast}} while driving with GPS navigation using {{w|speech synthesis}} for {{w|turn-by-turn navigation|turn-by-turn driving instructions}}. {{w|In-car entertainment|Car entertainment systems}} and {{w|Satellite navigation|SatNav}}-enabling devices (if connected to the car's audio feed) typically allow the SatNav to interrupt whatever else is being played, so that directions can be heard clearly. It's usually easy for the driver to recognise such instructions due to the sudden change in characteristics of the voice. And also the switch in contextual flow, even mid-word for the original sound-source.

However, if the synthetic voice is similar to the speech that was playing, it may be hard to distinguish between the two, especially if the navigation instructions seem to coincide with the interrupted speech. In cases like this, the listener might think that the driving instructions are part of their podcast.

The comic suggests [[Randall]] misinterpreted driving instructions as part of the story being told in a podcast because the voices sound similar. The comic illustrates the instructions as if they were part of the story from the podcast. Due to the mysterious nature of the story, it is conceivable that the woman in the podcast could have said the navigation instruction line as part of the podcast, leading to ambiguity between the two.

The title text suggests this confusion worsened after Randall's navigation instructions voice got stuck emulating {{w|Phoebe Judge}}, known for the {{w|Criminal (podcast)|''Criminal''}} and {{w|This Is Love (podcast)|''This Is Love''}} podcasts, implying he often listens to her. The extent to which [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qB2NKadJ6U she may sound similar to voices of common navigation apps] is of course entirely subjective.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[Cueball and Ponytail are sitting at a table. They are both wearing headsets and speaking into microphones.]

Cueball: ...And that's when you knew she had betrayed you?"

Ponytail: Yeah, she picked up the money and walked out."

[Close-up of Ponytail]

Ponytail: To this day, I don't know if she planned it all.

Ponytail: But there was one moment that makes me think, maybe she did.

[A silhouette stands in a doorway, holding a bag.]

Ponytail (as voiceover) Just before she disappeared, she paused at the door, looked back at me, and said,

Silhouette (as diagetic speech): Hey - if I ever see you again,

[Close-up of silhouette]

Silhouette: Turn left at the next light

[Caption below the panels:]

It's so disorienting when a podcaster has a voice that's similar to my navigation app.

{{comic discussion}}