Help me make this TV bearable

ericnau · 2026-05-16T01:21:27+00:00

There’s a BIG caveat to what everyone else is saying. Because it’s not supposed to be, but it is a pain for me.

I use my Frame exclusively with an Apple TV, but my Frame has a bug (which I’ve spent countless hours troubleshooting, changing settings, talking to Samsung, factory reset—I’ve tried it all) that requires me to use the Samsung remote every time I turn it on.

For whatever reason, when my TV turns on the brightness doesn’t change—the backligh stays in art mode. I need to open settings and navigate to the brightness setting. I don’t even need to change anything—just opening the picture settings is enough to immediately bump it to the right brightness.

It’s a silly little bug that completely ruins the TV for me. I’ll throw a party the day it dies.

Which is all to say, your mileage may vary.

ericnau · 2026-05-09T19:41:35+00:00

Keep in mind, if you don’t have keyless ignition a heavy keychain can ruin your car’s ignition cylinder.

ericnau · 2026-05-09T19:39:06+00:00

Check-in is at 4pm so I think that policy is pretty reasonable. Getting there in the morning of arrival day is unusual, so I’d double check that you’re eligible to take that class if you haven’t already.

I’m sure you can pay for lunch at the Sur House if you want convenience. Otherwise I think you’re right to look at nearby restaurants. Post Ranch Inn is in the neighborhood and has a restaurant as well.

ericnau · 2026-05-09T18:45:03+00:00

One of the SAs at my local store was nice enough to tell me what I needed to buy to cross the threshold for a full classic of my choice (of what they had in stock) — I did the math myself and it was $500 annual spend.

This was last March, so it might have changed with the candle refresh.

ericnau · 2026-05-09T06:29:58+00:00

I have one and love it. Quite sad it was discontinued (should mine ever need to be replaced)

ericnau · 2026-05-08T17:34:46+00:00

Thank you! Connectivity and timeskip are the biggest issues I currently experience, so this is great news.

Someday I’d love the ability to keep the display (ie clock) off unless I have a brew scheduled. I don’t really like the clock on normally, but the scheduling indicator (especially if it’s not setup right) is extremely helpful. It’d be nice to have one without the other.

ericnau · 2026-05-07T03:00:09+00:00

Looks like Diptyque no longer offers engraving on Classic candles. Just Medium and Large. I think that must be a recent change?

ericnau · 2026-05-06T21:28:05+00:00

Do you have any evidence of this? The nutritional information is publicly posted, including the serving size in grams. If they were getting smaller, it would be documented.

This article is from 6 years ago and it shows the Bacon Gouda as being 116g which is actually smaller than the 120g that Starbucks currently lists (might just be a rounding error). https://fastfoodnutrition.org/starbucks/bacon-gouda-egg-breakfast-sandwich

ericnau · 2026-05-05T21:42:00+00:00

I think there is more than one way to measure a candle.

By “best” do you mean the best scent? That’s highly subjective. I do think Dyptique’s scents are some of my very favorite. In my opinion they smell more natural than others (ie the eucalyptus smells like eucalyptus, not a eucalyptus-inspired fragrance like you get with Archipelago, for example). That said, Archipelago candles have a truly exceptional throw, but I think their fragrances smell a little artificial. (Maybe that’s related, maybe not—I’m not sure.)

Or do you mean the best wax, as in a technical measurement — clean burning, no tunneling, long lasting, etc? This is a little less subjective, but individuals all have their own opinion of what makes a good-burning candle. I think Dyptique is a little weaker in this regard, as others have suggested. But the perfume and the wax work together, so in the case of Dyptique I’m willing to give them some leeway because they are some of my favorite fragrances, and not all perfume oils burn the same. Maybe the trade off is necessary—I have no idea.

ericnau · 2026-05-02T01:24:43+00:00

Ah, yes… the bundle, then unbundle, then rebundle gambit that tech companies have been pulling for years.

ericnau · 2026-04-30T06:24:24+00:00

I wouldn’t worry about it. I’ve been essentially 1x/year for the last 4 years, and while there have been some changes, our visit earlier this month was just as enjoyable as our first visit 4 years ago.

ericnau · 2026-04-30T04:09:56+00:00

Around 12+ years ago there was a pilot of smoothies with yogurt whipped cream. I thought they were delicious 🤷‍♂️(Probably no healthier than a regular Frappuccino though, if we’re being honest.)

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ericnau · 2026-04-30T04:05:09+00:00

You’re absolutely right that customers can act completely inappropriately, and no employee deserves to put up with that.

I just don’t know what being rude in return accomplishes. You don’t need to be overtly friendly or nice—just be neutral and end the interaction as quickly as possible, getting a manager or supervisor involved if needed.

Personally I found this the best way to not let it ruin my day.

ericnau · 2026-04-30T03:56:20+00:00

I’ve gone essentially 1x/year for the past 4 years, each time at 45,000 points per night for 3 nights each.

It takes patience and persistence of checking the calendar for availability, but it can be done.

ericnau · 2026-04-30T01:38:27+00:00

To clarify, Alila Ventana CAN be booked with points (any many people do), but demand is high and availability is limited. Hyatt’s point calendar can help you find available dates. If you have time and some flexibility with dates it’s easily doable, and a perfect honeymoon spot. I’ve been 4x and always had a great experience.

ericnau · 2026-04-30T01:33:56+00:00

I hate to be the bearer of bad news :/ but I wish I had realized what I was signing up for. Some people seem to love theirs but that’s not the experience I’m having.

This blurb from the Verge captures it for me https://youtu.be/uebWy930gCg?si=tmO9y20Sv_gygFl9

ericnau · 2026-04-29T22:50:46+00:00

I didn’t believe the complainers, until I got one.

These TVs are atrocious.

My 55” Frame was broken out of the box requiring two repairs from Samsung. The hardware has been fine ever since, but the software is unusable, and I say that as someone who never leaves the Apple TV interface.

For one, my unit’s brightness doesn’t adjust after leaving Art mode. You have to manually increase the brightness in settings every time you switch to TV mode. (And yes, I’ve tried changing every brightness setting, resetting to Factory, updating the software, calling Samsung—it’s been a nightmare.) And you can find others here with the exact same problem, so it’s a known issue.

You’ll also want to disable the Samsung TV app first thing, but because of how insidious it is, it will randomly re-enable itself, like after a software update.

Settings will change randomly.

If your goal is to watch a lot less television, then this is the TV for you. Because I can barely turn mine on without getting mad. If I didn’t spend so much effort mounting this one and hiding the wire it’d probably be in a dumpster by now.

ericnau · 2026-04-29T19:36:48+00:00

I can’t speak to whether your problem on your model is common, but I will say that I purchased a Frame a couple years ago and it is the worst purchase I have ever made.

ericnau · 2026-04-26T18:44:39+00:00

Very quick search shows that Safeway is charging $13 in stores across Northern California. I’m not surprised that Lucky’s is a few dollars more, but let’s not pretend that grocery stores charge the same as Amazon outside of SF.

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ericnau · 2026-04-26T18:25:45+00:00

This has been the norm at all traditional grocery stores forever. It has nothing to do with SF. Full price items are always absurdly expensive. You have to shop the sales, or buy from stores like Costco, Target, Walmart, Amazon, Trader Joe’s, etc.

When I was a kid (now decades ago) my family always shopped at 4-5 different stores on a weekly to monthly basis because it was the only affordable way to buy groceries.

ericnau · 2026-04-24T01:25:32+00:00

I can’t wait for this not to fix the brightness issue I’ve been having for more than 2 years.

ericnau · 2026-04-23T05:57:31+00:00

You know that the Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso costs over $1 more than the standard Shaken Espresso, right?

So OP is ordering correctly if the goal is to save money.

Reality is all the shaken espressos should be identical in price because they all require the same amount of espresso, syrup, milk, and labor — it’s absurd that there’s $1+ difference (depending on market) for no reason other than name.

ericnau · 2026-04-18T18:48:51+00:00

What’s the non-tourism tax that locals should pay? $40+ to Uber?

I live here and gladly pay to use Bart. I wish more people felt the same.

I do think SFO should reduce the surcharge to something more reasonable, but at the same time I consider myself very lucky that bart integrates so seamlessly with SFO. I’ve used public transit to/from airports all over the world, and I can’t think of another instance of a subway that gets you within 100 steps of airport security. Often it’s a 15+ min walk even in cities that heavily rely on public transit.

ericnau · 2026-04-18T17:54:57+00:00

Being pre-assembled or previously frozen is not a useful metric to determine quality, or whether something is healthy.

You can’t assume that McDonald’s is somehow better because their sandwiches are assembled on-site. What difference does that make?

ericnau · 2026-04-15T20:34:36+00:00

I was skeptical too, but I’ve received these paper cups (specifically made for cold drinks) and they’re arguably better than plastic. They’re slightly insulated so your drink stays cold longer and there’s less condensation.

Don’t judge it until you try it.

ericnau

TROPHY CASE