ALEXA FAST — Daddy fix 2026-06-16
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Problem: Echo was reading fleet protocol aloud (do now / fleet/bus paths / tell captain).

Fix on penguin (~/.stan):
  alexa_speech.for_aloud() strips meta before phone/say.txt
  Full reply still on fleet/bus/AWS_SPEAK.txt
  Speakable only on fleet/bus/AWS_SPEAK_ALOUD.txt

Web tricks (user-side — do once on Echo):
  1. Brief Mode ON — Alexa app → More → Settings → Voice Responses
     Or say: "Alexa, enable Brief Mode"
     Shorter replies + chime instead of "OK got it"
  2. Per device: Device Settings → Sounds → turn OFF Start/End of request
     Notification sound → None (cuts extra chatter)
  3. Routines: avoid "Alexa says" steps; use actions only
     Bundle with Wait(1s) not speech between steps
  4. Whisper Mode for night: "Alexa, enable whisper mode"
  5. Follow-up mode OFF where you sleep (fewer open-mic loops)

Dev-side (our stack — done):
  • Keep aloud text under ~180 chars / ~70 words (Alexa skill best practice)
  • No file paths, no "do now", no "tell captain" on say.txt
  • Status-only compact: "Connection failed. Ports 8002 and 8765 are down."
  • Browser TTS on /goal uses same filter via hitme /voice

If she still reads directions:
  Check phone/say.txt on Drive — should match AWS_SPEAK_ALOUD not AWS_SPEAK
  Re-run: python3 ~/.stan/aws_speech.py  (or any cpt_talk turn)

SSML (if we build a custom skill later):
  <prosody rate="fast">...</prosody> for speed
  <prosody volume="silent">...</prosody> to hide text from speech
  Progressive response API for "one sec" while AWS thinks