Last year, the Federal Register—the U.S. government’s depository of rules and regulations—hit an all-time high of 81,640 pages. Among the industries that bear the greatest regulatory oversight is financials, which has seen a disproportionate amount of scrutiny in recent years, especially following the 9/11 attacks and subprime mortgage crisis.

Although I agree with the need to have and play by the rules, financial regulations have become so onerous that they render all but the largest firms noncompetitive. It’s a game whose rules are continually shifting, and there often seems to be more referees than players. A recent Thomson Reuters survey found that more than a third of all financial firms spend at least a whole work day every week tracking and analyzing regulatory changes. This is an obligation most companies simply can’t afford in the long term.

It serves no one, least of all investors and borrowers, to have fewer options in the capital markets. But this is precisely what the most recent regulations have contributed to. In the last 20 years, the number of listed companies has been cut in half, and since 2008, one in four regional banks has disappeared.

President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress are actively working to alleviate any additional regulatory pressure. In January, the House passed a bill requiring securities officials to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of any new rule—something that should have been done in the first place—and in February the president signed an executive order requiring the elimination of two federal regulations for every new one that’s adopted.

As for when those that are already in place can be lifted, in whole or in part, is a different matter.

Having said that, I want to share with you a timeline of the five costliest financial regulations of the past 20 years. Please note that when I say “costly,” I’m referring not only to dollar figures but also additional workload and compliance hours.

October 2001: International Money Laundering Abatement and Financial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001

Passed in October 2001 as part of the USA PATRIOT Act, this particular act aims to prevent black money from being used to finance terrorist activities. It actually reforms two previous anti-money laundering (AML) laws, the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 and the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986.

Although I think most of us would agree that catching terrorists is an admirable mission, the AML rules come at a very high cost to financial institutions. According to a 2016 study conducted by the Heritage Foundation, the current rules cost the U.S. economy between $4.8 billion and $8 billion annually. And with so few money laundering cases opened and investigated every year, each conviction since the law went into effect carries an estimated $7 million price tag.

Consequently, many banks, facing strict penalties and compliance costs, have cancelled thousands of “high-risk” accounts, including those belonging to money-transfer firms and humanitarian organizations.

July 2002: Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX)

Enacted in July 2002, Sarbanes-Oxley, or SOX, was intended to prevent large-scale corporate and accounting fraud that led to the demise of Enron, WorldCom and others. It set in place new requirements for public companies.

The most burdensome of these is Section 404, which requires external auditors to report on the adequacy of a firm’s “internal controls.” Since such auditing is so complex and costly—sometimes quadruple the normal amount—many smaller companies have found it prohibitively difficult to raise capital in the public markets. Before SOX, there were an average 528 initial public offerings (IPOs) a year, according to Dealogic data. Since it was enacted, that number has fallen to 135, a decline of nearly 75 percent.

This has resulted in the rise of private capital and has locked retail investors out of high-growth investment opportunities.

Speaking to the Detroit Economic Club in 2013, Home Depot founder and former CEO Bernie Marcus said that, had SOX existed when he helped conceive the company in the late 1970s, he wouldn’t have been able to get it off the ground, let alone take it public. This would have been a shame, as Home Depot is now one of the largest employers in the U.S. and has among the highest market caps, standing at nearly $188 billion. A $5,000 investment in the company when it first IPOed in September 1981 would today be worth well over $27 million. In its current form, SOX threatens to put an end to such high-growth opportunities.

March 2010: Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

Signed by then-President Barack Obama, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) allegedly aims to clamp down on tax evasion by requiring participating foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to provide the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with names, addresses and account details of all American accountholders living abroad with assets over $50,000.

As I wrote back in 2014, the law’s mandates would be felt hardest “not by wealthy ‘fat cat’ tax dodgers but hardworking Americans who have no intentions of cheating the U.S. tax system.”

I’m not alone here. The IRS, of all groups, has come out on the side of taxpayers, writing in 2015 that “the IRS’s approach to FATCA implementation has created significant compliance burdens and risk exposures to a variety of impacted parties.” The rule’s underlying assumption, it says, is that “all such taxpayers should be suspected of fraudulent activity, unless proven otherwise.”

Until the law is reformed, the IRS adds, its efforts “will continue to be unsystematic, unjustified and unsuccessful.”

Many others apparently agree—especially those FATCA targets. The number of overseas individuals renouncing their U.S. citizenship crossed above 5,000 in 2016, an all-time high, with 2,300 expatriating in the final quarter alone.

Nintendo has a brand-new Mario game coming to its brand-new game console. It's called "Super Mario Odyssey," and it's a bizarre-looking, 3D Mario for the Nintendo Switch.

It's the first major "Super Mario" game for the Switch, and it's a marquee title. As such, Nintendo is using this year's annual video game trade show —  the Electronic Entertainment Expo (or "E3,") in mid-June — as a means of blowing out its big new Mario game. And that means we're about to learn a ton more about "Super Mario Odyssey."

But we've already seen a ton of clues about what to expect from Nintendo's next major Mario game. Here's everything we know so far:

SEE ALSO: How a Nintendo superfan turned his Switch into the perfect Super Nintendo throwback

First things first: This is definitely a 3D Super Mario game, in the lineage of "Super Mario 64" and "Super Mario Galaxy." That means it's a "sandbox-style" game. The world is segmented into levels, but the levels are massive and open-ended.

"Super Mario 64" was both the first 3D Mario game and the first Mario game where levels were open-ended. No flagpole, no definitive beginning and end. Instead, you collected stars in any order you wished.

In "Super Mario Odyssey," Mario explores a variety of real-world locations. He's got a flying ship for getting from place to place:

Shake Shack will start serving breakfast at its original Madison Square Park location, Gothamist reports.

Starting May 22, the burger joint will serve its breakfast menu from 7:30-10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8:30-10:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. 

According to Gothamist, in addition to its three egg sandwiches, Shake Shack's original burger stand will also serve coffee cake and apple turnovers, which we have yet to try.

We have, however, sampled the rest of Shake Shack's breakfast menu. Here's what it's like.  

SEE ALSO: A definitive ranking of everything on Chick-fil-A's breakfast menu

The Shake Shack breakfast sandwich menu is small and simple: sausage, egg and cheese sandwich; bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich; and an egg and cheese sandwich. You can order one or two eggs on each, with two eggs costing a little extra.

First off, the egg and cheese. Perhaps the most humble of all breakfast sandwiches, the egg and cheese holds no pretense or airs — it merely... is. I notice that the bun is just that: a bun. Using the classic potato bun also used on the burgers and chicken sandwiches is an interesting move.

And it ends up being a good move, at that — the soft potato bun translates to breakfast flavors remarkably well. One bite in, and one immediately realizes that this is a step above any normal fast-food breakfast sandwich. The fried egg is real — that's right, a real egg, no glutinous swatch of pale yellow. The yolk reaches the sweet spot between runny and firm, and the cheese is rich and velvety.

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

If you're an avid Amazon shopper, you probably think you know about all of the site's nooks and crannies. One section of the site you probably haven't taken advantage of yet, but should, is its newly launched  Interesting Finds store. 

You may have noticed the "New and Interesting Finds on Amazon" banner at the top of Amazon's homepage. Click the banner and you'll be brought to the store.

In the store, you'll find affordable home decor, cute knickknacks for your desk, and much, much more. Interesting Finds expertly curates the newest, coolest, and most interesting things you can buy on the site into fun-to-scroll-through, collage-style lists that are updated daily.

"Fun,""Mid-Century,""Plush," and "Smart Home" are just a few of the lists Amazon updates every day that you can peruse. "Fun" is the default list Amazon brings you to from its homepage.

If you want a list of products specially selected for you, you can click the heart button on the top left corner of your favorite products and Interesting Finds will generate a list of things it thinks you'll like.

With hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of products to sift through, this section can feel like a trip down the rabbit hole — in a good way. To give you an idea of what Interesting Finds is all about, we put together a list of 10 of our favorite "interesting finds" we found while scanning the section. Have a look and then check out Amazon's newest and coolest section of its site for yourself. 

SEE ALSO: Millennials’ favorite place to buy clothes online is Amazon — here’s why that shouldn’t surprise you

A bath bomb gift set

In addition to the psychedelic swirl of colors they leave in your tub, these bath bombs release moisturizing oils that will leave your skin incredibly soft.

Oliver Rocket Aromatherapy Bath Bombs Set, $26.95 for set of six

A dining chair

"Interesting Finds" is a great place to find stylish, affordable, furniture like Modway's twill dining chair.

Modway Aegis Dining Armchair, from $132.64

A tea infuser

If you like to start your day with a cup of hot tea, but hate fishing loose tea leaves out of your mug, pick up an infuser.

Luc Tea Sub, $5.90

Business Insider recently published a roundup of the best relationship advice real people have ever heard.

We learned that love isn't enough for a solid relationship and that it's important to pick and choose your battles. Helpful stuff.

Then we started to wonder: What's the most obviously bad relationship advice out there? The advice that's either outdated or never made any sense in the first place?

So we turned to a series of experts — including a biological anthropologist and a marriage and family therapist — to find out.

Below, we've rounded up six pieces of advice that you've probably heard, but that you definitely shouldn't be taking to heart (pun intended).

SEE ALSO: 9 real people share the best relationship advice they've ever heard

'If you're fighting, your relationship is in trouble'

"It's not that you fight, but how you fight that determines the health and happiness of a relationship. If you never fight or disagree with your partner, one of you may be harboring resentments.

"And, while I'm talking about fighting ... the piece of advice that drives me crazy is, 'Never go to bed angry.' In fact, sometimes a good night's sleep is exactly what you need to think more clearly and fight right."

— Andrea Syrtash, relationship expert and author of "He's Just Not Your Type (And That's a Good Thing)"

'Cyber snooping can save you from choosing the wrong partner'

"First off, if someone gives you this advice, take a look at the quality of that person’s relationship before you choose to follow in their footsteps.

"If you cannot trust your partner, then you've already chosen the wrong one. The bigger question is why you are attracted to a person whom you do not trust. Put simply, snooping destroys trust, which is the foundation of a healthy relationship."

— Emyli Lovz, dating coach

'In order for a relationship to work, it has to be magic right from the start'

"Or really that it has to be anything. Often when people give advice, they're telling you what's true for them.

"And the lesson I learned interviewing hundreds of couples is that there's no one way that love unfolds — or is sustained.

"Some people fall in love at first sight. Others sit next to the same person at the office for years and feel nothing — until, one day, they do.

"The advice I'd give people is to really learn to listen to themselves. And if an answer isn't immediately apparent, check in with your body. I once heard a yoga instructor say that your head can lie to you, but your body never will. I've found that to invariably true and useful in all areas of life — especially relationships."

— Ellen McCarthy, Washington Post reporter and author of "The Real Thing"

You can live with scratches on your car — but you shouldn't.

Scratches are like the old torture of death by a thousand cuts. Eventually, they'll destroy your car's finish by allowing rust to develop on metal parts. And like the great Canadian poet said, rust never sleeps.

Neil Young references aside, I recently suggested two ways to repair scratches. While I was dispensing this basic advice, it occurred to me that I had some scratches on my own car, a 2011 Toyota Prius, that needed attending to, certainly as winter arrived in the Northeast, where I live. 

I took care of them, but now that spring has rolled around, I can see some new damage. Time to break out the scratch-fixing kit for another run.

Read on for a basic how-to:

SEE ALSO: Here are 2 good ways to fix a scratch on your car

I've had my Prius for a couple of years — lots of time to acquire a few dings and scratches.

Here's the one I decided to repair first: a narrow scribbled scrape. Ugly! Mind you, this scrape was in my plastic bumper. But I had others in the metal body panels.

A company called TouchUpDirect sells repair kits. For about $30, I got a paint pen to match my car's color, as well as a clear coat pen. Clearcoat is the transparent layer that protects the finish.

Here's a link to the company's site. I don't recommend or endorse the product, but in my case, it worked well.

Trying to save more, pay off debt and make the most of your money? You might want to try living like a billionaire— but only if that billionaire is Warren Buffett.

The investor — known as the “Oracle of Omaha” — is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, but there’s more to this American business magnate than just his job. Despite his roughly $74 billion net worth, the second-wealthiest man in the world enjoys a life with simple taste, frugal living and generous philanthropy.

“What would Warren do?” is a good question to ask yourself when modeling your lifestyle after Buffett’s. The billionaire doesn’t describe himself as frugal, just a man with simple tastes. “I buy everything I want in life,” he told People Magazine recently. “Would 10 homes make me more happy? Possessions possess you at a point. I don’t like a $100 meal as well as a hamburger from McDonald’s.”

Here’s a look at how the brilliant billionaire maintains a frugal lifestyle. If you decide to live like Warren Buffett, who knows — perhaps you can become one of the richest people in the world, too?

SEE ALSO: 3 simple budgeting strategies used by the super rich

DON'T MISS: These 10 American colleges have minted almost 400 billionaires

Warren Buffett lives in the same house he bought in 1958.

Billionaires live in mansions, right? Not Warren Buffett.

He lives in the same Omaha residence he bought in 1958 for $31,500, the equivalent of roughly $270,000 in 2017 dollars. Buffett has no intention of putting his own home up for sale. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he said.

In today’s money, Buffett would have paid about $41 per square foot for the 6,570-square-foot home. But these days, you’ll pay about $180 per square foot for a home in Omaha of that size and era, including one listed across the street from the multi-billionaire.

If you want to live like Buffett, consider buying less home than you can afford. Instead of paying pricey mortgage payments, you’ll be able to put more of your money toward savings, retirement or vacations. And if you must take out a loan, consider getting a 30-year mortgage. It’s “the best instrument in the world,” Buffett told CNBC. Buffett took out a 30-year mortgage in 1971 when he bought a vacation home in California.

“If you’re wrong and rates go to 2 percent, which I don’t think they will, you pay it off,” he said. “It’s a one-way renegotiation. It is an incredibly attractive instrument for the homeowner and you’ve got a one-way bet.”

Buffett starts his day with a cheap breakfast.

You might assume something like eggs Benedict and mimosas would be part of every billionaire’s breakfast. Or, all billionaires have a personal chef who can whip up whatever and whenever they want — right?

Wrong. Adopting Buffett’s lifestyle doesn’t include paying high prices for daily gourmet French toast prepared in the comforts of your own home.

When it comes to food, the billionaire investor has been known to save money by taking the fast food route. In fact, he might kick off his day with a trip to McDonald’s during his five-minute drive to work, reports CNBC.

If he’s feeling prosperous, he’ll splurge by spending $3.17 on a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit sandwich. If the market’s down, he might spend $2.95 on a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich instead. On a really bad day, he buys two sausage patties for $2.61, puts them together and washes it down with a Coke.

Buffett is also known to eat cheap when he’s on the road. But forget the cholesterol-soaked bacon and eggs at a local restaurant. Buffett’s travel breakfast might consist of a pack of Oreos, his friend Bill Gates — yes, his good buddy is the Microsoft founder — wrote on his blog.

“One thing that was surprising to learn about Warren is that he has basically stuck to eating what he liked when he was 6 years old,” wrote Gates. “He did move past baby food, of course, but he mostly eats hamburgers, ice cream and Coke.”

Buffett explained his bizarre but cheap diet in an interview with Fortune: “I checked the actuarial tables, and the lowest death rate is among 6-year-olds. So I decided to eat like a 6-year-old. It’s the safest course I can take.”

Buffett drives the same car for years.

Although some CEOs drive around in multimillion-dollar cars, you’ll likely find Buffett driving something much more modest. In a BBC documentary, his daughter said he bought cars that he could get at reduced prices, like those that were hail-damaged. The cars were fixed and didn’t look hail-damaged and became a regular part of the Buffett lifestyle.

“You’ve got to understand, he keeps cars until I tell him, ‘This is getting embarrassing — time for a new car,'” said his daughter in the documentary.

Buffett also told Forbes in 2014 about his car-buying habits — or lack thereof. “The truth is, I only drive about 3,500 miles a year so I will buy a new car very infrequently,” he said.

Remember this the next you’re in the market for a car: Since cars tend to depreciate quickly, it can be better for your finances if you try to keep your well-working car for as long as possible — or at least opt to buy a used car instead of new.

Facebook is one of the world's most desirable places to work thanks to incredible perks, impressive salaries, and great corporate culture.

The Menlo Park, California-based tech giant, which has a current market cap of $435.11 billion, consistently earns top spots on "best places to work" and "hottest companies" rankings.

To see what all the fuss is about, Business Insider visited Facebook's Manhattan office in November ... and let's just say, we get it.

Here's what we saw and learned during our tour:

SEE ALSO: A look inside Twitter's New York office, where employees enjoy rosé on tap, a basement café, and a fully-stocked kitchen run by a top chef

DON'T MISS: A look inside Kickstarter's Brooklyn office, where employees enjoy perks like a secret rooftop garden, coffee on tap, and plenty of dogs

We arrived at Facebook's Greenwich Village office on a mild Friday afternoon in November. Once we checked in, we were greeted by engineering director Jeff Reynar and corporate communications manager Jamil Walker.

The first thing that jumped out at us on the tour was this physical embodiment of a Facebook "wall." Reynar told us New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker recently stopped by to sign it. “What’s kind of fun about this is that there’s a wall at most of our offices," Reynar said. "It’s kind of temporary. At some point, we’ll probably do some kind of construction and this will go away and we’ll start a fresh one with new signatures."

Across all of its 66 offices and data centers worldwide, Facebook — which has a market cap of $435.11 billion as of mid-May — employs almost 19,000 people. About 1,000 of them work in the Frank Gehry-designed Manhattan location, which also houses members of the company's Instagram team. Facebook occupies four floors of the building, which was once a Wanamaker's department store.

Source: Markets Insider

The demographic makeup of the US will change dramatically over the next 10 years, and a new report from a group of Credit Suisse analysts led by Seth Sigman shows that those changes could have a big impact on consumer spending and the well-being of certain industries.

According to the report, the following demographic changes will have the biggest impact on consumer spending:

• "Lower growth in under 25-years-old cohort."Declining birth rates will translate into a decline in the growth of people under 25 years old. The population of this group is set to increase by just 1.3% in the decade from 2016 to 2026.
• "Growing young adult population."Millennials, the largest population group, are about to enter the "sweet spot for spending."
• "Shrinking middle-age population." The so-called middle-age cohort, people ages 45 to 64, is set to decline by 2.8%.
• "Growing older population."The older population, people 65 years and above, is expected to grow by 37.1%.

"Our analysis is most positive for Home Improvement, Leisure-related categories (e.g., RV's, boats), and Staple categories (Healthcare, Household Supplies, Food at Home) based on expected growth in the young adult and 65+ age cohorts, while less positive for Apparel/Footwear, General Sporting Goods, Home Furnishings, Casual Dining, based on a shrinking middle-age group," the analysts wrote.

Following are 14 stocks Credit Suisse thinks could be negatively affected by demographic changes in the US.

SEE ALSO: Inside the exclusive New York gym where Hugh Jackman, Victoria's Secret models, and Wall Streeters work out

Hudson's Bay Company

Demographic driver: Shrinking middle-age population; old population spends less

Source: Credit Suisse

JCPenney

Demographic driver: Shrinking middle-age population; old population spends less

Source: Credit Suisse

Nordstrom

Demographic driver: Shrinking middle-age population; old population spends less

Source: Credit Suisse

Can you improve on something that's already close to perfect?

That's what I wondered after Allbirds last month debuted a new shoe, the $95 loafer-style "Wool Loungers." 

When I reviewed the original $95 “Wool Runners,” last year, I was charmed by the New Zealand wool sneakers' look and feel. And I've continued to get tons of unsolicited compliments from strangers on them since.

I'm not the only one in their thrall. Over the last year, Silicon Valley startup founders and venture capitalists have developed a taste for Allbirds, which claims its shoes are the "most comfortable in the world." Indeed, the Valley has become "obsessed" with the shoe because of its low-key style and comfort, as my colleague Melia Robinson observed.

To see if the Loungers lived up to the standard set by the Runners, I decided to put them to the test for a few weeks.

Here are my impressions:

The Loungers retain a lot of what made the original Runners special. They are extremely comfortable, though the fit is a tad tighter than the original around the toe. They are breathable enough to be fine in most weather, but I wouldn't recommend slogging through water in them.

But it's in the style where they feel the most different from the Runners. From a comfort perspective, you can wear the Loungers either with or without socks. But from a stylistic perspective, they look much better without them.

SEE ALSO: Silicon Valley is obsessed with these wool sneakers that claim to be the 'most comfortable in the world'

Here's what they look like with socks. A tad goofy, right?

Now here are the Runners with the same sock. It just feels more natural.

As their name suggests, the Loungers are really perfect for lounging around the house. They're effortless to slip on and off, and look great without socks. But they aren't as versatile as the Runners.

After TV networks decided what will stay and what will go, the carnage is now over. That means fans can breathe and focus on what survived for another year and the new shows.

To find out which new shows have most captured fans' attention, Business Insider partnered with Amobee Brand Intelligence, a company that provides marketing insight and measures real-time content consumption across the internet. Amobee analyzed the digital engagement around the newly announced shows in order to find out which ones were attracting the most chatter.

The reboots and revivals had the most tongues wagging. The trend of bringing back series has been in full force for the last few years. This season, "American Idol,""Roseanne," and "Will & Grace" will be joining those ranks.

Another popular theme: shows that belong to a franchise, such as ABC's new Marvel's show, "Inhumans," and CBS's "Big Bang Theory" spin-off, "Young Sheldon."

Here are the 10 most talked-about new shows right now:

SEE ALSO: 43 TV shows that have been canceled

DON'T MISS: Here are all your favorite TV shows that are coming back for another season

10. "The Good Doctor" (ABC)

Fresh off finishing his run with "Bates Motel," Freddie Highmore stars on "The Good Dootor" as a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome whose social skills and medical talents are tested at a new hospital.

9. Untitled "Grey's Anatomy" spin-off (ABC)

ABC is copying NBC's "Chicago" franchise model by ordering a spin-off of "Grey's Anatomy" set in a firehouse. 

8. "Wisdom of the Crowd" (CBS)

"Wisdom of the Crowd" features "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven as a tech inventor who crowdsources an app that solves his daughter's murder and can revolutionize crime solving.

The big stars are in the South of France looking their most glamorous for this year's Cannes Film Festival and getting their photos shared across the world.

Following her eye-catching red dress at last year's Cannes, model Bella Hadid returned to the festival to grace the legendary red carpet. But fellow model Emily Ratajkowski also showed up and was turning everyone's head. Then there are the movie stars like Robin Wright, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Williams, and Uma Thurman. 

And Rihanna then put everyone to shame.

But the person having the best time has to be festival jury member Will Smith. When he's not arguing about Netflix with jury president Pedro Almodóvar, he's having an incredible time walking the carpet and waving to the fans.

Here are photos of all the stars looking fabulous at this year's Cannes:

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 11 best movies of the year so far

Let's just take a second to appreciate the star power and fashion of Rihanna...

She completely shut down the red carpet for the premiere of Netflix's "Okja."

"Okja" star Tilda Swinton also did not disappoint.

A computer science degree from a top university can help graduates land their dream job at companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook.

But which computer science courses are the best ones to try and to get onto if you want to impress employers?

Using the QS World University Rankings 2017, we took a look at the universities with the top computer science and information systems courses in Europe.

The guide is one of the most reputable sources that students turn to when deciding which universities to apply to, and employers are also likely to refer to it when deciding which candidates to hire.

It is based on academic reputation, employer reputation, and research impact. The full methodology can be read here. We looked at the overall scores, which are out of 100.

10. Politecnico di Milano — The Politecnico di Milano boasts 74 professors at its computer science and engineering department. The faculty achieved a QS score of 74.6 for its computer science and information systems courses.

9. Lomonosov Moscow State University — Founded in 1755 by Mikhail Lomonosov, this university is home to more than 40,000 students. The university's computer science and information systems courses scored an impressive 74.7

8. Technical University of Munich — With its giant slides, it'll barely feel like you're a university student at Technical University Munich. The school achieved a score of 77.2 for its computer science and information systems courses.

The US uses an astounding amount of energy: about 97 quadrillion BTUs, or about 18% of world's total energy consumption. And demand is only going to increase over time.

The vast majority of the energy the country consumes comes from fossil fuels, and isn't renewable or sustainable. But wind farms offer a promising alternative.

GE and Deepwater Wind, a developer of offshore turbines, have partnered to build five massive wind turbines and install them in the Atlantic Ocean. They make up the first offshore wind farm in North America, called the Block Island Wind Farm. The turbines started delivering power to the New England grid on May 5, and effectively helped shut down a diesel plant that previously provided electricity to Block Island.

The team began installing the turbines 30 miles off the coast of Rhode Island over the summer, and construction was completed in late August 2016. The farm's four-month testing phase, which produced more than one gigawatt-hour of electricity, ended on December 2, 2016.

Check out how the wind farm was made.

SEE ALSO: 10 cities that are starting to go car-free

The Block Island Wind Farm is rated at 30 megawatts, which is the amount required to power every home on Block Island, Eric Crucerey, the farm's project manager, tells Business Insider. It will emit about 40,000 fewer tons of greenhouse gases per year than fossil fuels would to generate the same amount of energy. That's the equivalent of taking 150,000 cars off the road.

The potential for offshore wind energy in the US is massive. If we build in all of the available ocean space, the winds above coastal waters could provide more than 4,000 gigawatts a year. That's more than four times the nation’s current annual production.

Source: US Department of Energy

Offshore turbines offer many advantages over those on land. Winds tend to blow harder and more consistently in the ocean, which helps offshore turbines generate more energy.

Celebrities are known for trying a wide range of wacky health trends. (Remember the Master Cleanse craze, circa 2008?) So it makes sense that stars have a diverse, often-eccentric taste in workouts, too. 

The fitness plans of the rich and famous don't exactly make for practical fitspiration — most of us normal folk can't afford or access the same hot classes and trainers — but it's still fun to see how the world's most famous people break a sweat.

Here's what 18 superstars do to stay in shape.

Dwayne Johnson lifts weights six days a week (in case you couldn't tell by looking at him).

Johnson recently put on 22 pounds of muscle for his role in "The Fate of the Furious," and he did it using good old fashioned weight lifting (with a little cardio thrown in for good measure). 

Johnson has said that hits the gym at 4 or 5 a.m. six days a week. He does cardio (either a run outside or an elliptical session), eats breakfast, then does weight training for an hour and a half, targeting each major muscle group: Back, chest, legs, and arms. 

The Rock shared the specifics of his workout over at Men's Fitness. 

Blake Lively uses swimming and kettle bells to stay in amazing shape.

Lively's trainer, Don Saladino, spoke with INSIDER last summer and shared how the star built strength before filming "The Shallows."

She worked out five to six days a week for two months to prepare for the physical role. They'd focus on upper body workouts on Mondays, lower body on Tuesdays, swimming laps in a pool on Wednesdays, then back to upper body on Thursdays and lower body on Fridays. On Saturdays they tackled arms and shoulders.

Once a week, Lively would also do a full-body move called the kettle bell sumo dead lift. 

"It's great for the muscles of the posterior chain, which is everything that makes up the backside of your body," Saladino said.

Heidi Klum just plays with her kids.

Believe it.

"I don't have time for workouts every day,"Klum told Shape magazine in December 2016. "Being the mother of four kids is a workout in itself! Balancing my work and their schedules makes it hard to find time for a traditional exercise routine, so we try to do as many outdoor activities as a family as possible."

She cited bike rides, hiking with the family dogs, and jumping on the trampoline as favorite activities.

The INSIDER Summary:

• From J.Lo to Bella Hadid, we covet our favorite celebrities' styles.
• You can get your hands on some celeb-approved items that won't break the budget.

When it comes to celeb style, you may think you need stylists, a glam team, and designer duds to achieve the look, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes even A-listers love a good deal, and you just *might* spot them in something that’s (gasp!) actually attainable. Harper’s Bazaar showed us a number of celeb-approved items you can buy right now without breaking the bank, including the three below.

1. Jennifer Lopez

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J. Lo, the OG naked dress queen (take note Kendall and Kylie Jenner!), taped an episode of The Late Late Show last week in a sparkly dress that was pretty affordable. The Shades of Blue actress dodged questions from host James Corden about her budding romance with Alex Rodriguez while clad in a Meshki Aviana Jeweled Midi Dress ($111) that was completely sheer from the waist down.

2. Victoria Justice

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In another moment of, “Stars, they’re just like us,” Disney alum Victoria Justice showed up at a Harper’s Bazaar event in this sparkly, on-trend Sharlie Sequin Slip Dress($62) from Pretty Little Thing. While the silver version of her look is currently sold out, there’s a gorg mermaid green and a rose gold version that are both still available.

3. Bella Hadid

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Just in time for summer, you can recreate Bella Hadid’s artsy staring-off-into-the-distance pose on Instagram in By the Sea Swimwear’s Solana One Piece ($150). The suit comes in black, coral, royal blue, slate, or a diamond print option, in addition to Hadid’s chosen rose-colored hue for your next beach vacay.

Everyone wants a raise, not to mention good pay to start with.

The fact of the matter is, you're more likely to get paid well and receive a substantial raise in some occupations over others.

Luckily, job site Glassdoor recently pinned down which high-paying jobs have seen the some of the biggest boosts in wages over the past 12 months.

To estimate each jobs' year-over-year median salary growth, Glassdoor looked at the estimated median base pay from April 2016 and April 2017.

The final rankings were then pulled from the following data visualization, which took into account jobs that have both high salary growth and high pay. The jobs that made the final list all came with a minimum median base salary of $51,350 and a minimum year-over-year salary growth of 2.7%.

Here are 16 high-paying jobs with some of the biggest wage increases:

SEE ALSO: The 20 highest-paying jobs you can do from home

16. Truck driver

Truck drivers drive different kinds of trucks, hauling and delivering a wide range goods over various distances.

Median base pay: $51,577

Increase in pay since last year: $1,356

Percent of increase in pay: 2.7%

15. Technical editor

Technical editors proofread and copy edit documents, usually covering topics in fields like engineering, computer science, and medicine.

Median base pay: $52,955

Increase in pay since last year: $1,392

Percent of increase in pay: 2.7%

14. Buyer

A buyer is a retail employee tasked with purchasing goods and products for an outlet.

Median base pay: $58,550

Increase in pay since last year: $1,980

Percent of increase in pay: 3.5%

Say what you will about nips, tucks, and implants, but the popularity of plastic surgery in the US continues to soar.

According to new data provided by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, cosmetic surgery has seen explosive growth in the US. Between 2000 and 2016, there's been 132% more procedures — and that number doesn't include reconstructive surgeries in response to injury, disease, or gender confirmation.

Gains in procedures were modest from 2015 to 2016, however, with a 4% year-over-year increase in cosmetic surgeries (such as liposuction and breast augmentation) and a 3% jump in "minimally invasive" procedures (such as Botox injections and laser hair removal). 

While only 10.4% of the 17.2 million total cosmetic procedures in 2016 were surgical, those invasive operations added up to a cost of $8.05 billion, which is nearly half of all money spent that year in the industry.

Here are the most popular invasive procedures Americans had done and how much they spent on them.

SEE ALSO: 13 fruits and vegetables you should probably just buy organic

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Americans spent nearly $1.1 billion on nose-reshaping rhinoplasty in 2016.

While the western US had the most plastic surgeries, the northeast US won out on rhinoplasties.

American men claimed 13% of the 1.65 million invasive plastic surgery procedures in 2016 — a jump of 28% compared to 16 years ago.

In case you run out of crime thrillers or romance novels, Bill Gates has some other beach reads you might find interesting.

The Microsoft cofounder and billionaire philanthropist has made it a tradition to share his favorite titles from the past few years on his Gates Notes blog. This year's books are primarily nonfiction — a mixture of memoir, biography, and science writing. 

If you want to get a little bit smarter for September, here's what Gates recommends.

SEE ALSO: Bill Gates reveals his 5 favorite books of 2016

"Hillbilly Elegy" by JD Vance

Vance, now a successful venture capitalist, grew up poor in the hills of the Appalachia.

"Hillbilly Elegy" is his account of life during that time — dark moments, times of joy, and Vance's perspective on the culture that pervades life in America's forgotten towns.

"While the book offers insights into some of the complex cultural and family issues behind poverty," Gates writes, "the real magic lies in the story itself and Vance's bravery in telling it."

"A Full Life" by Jimmy Carter

After having written more than 24 books already, President Carter's memoir about growing up in the small town of Plains, Georgia still reads as a quick, impressive book, Gates writes.

"I loved reading about Carter's improbable rise to the world's highest office," he says. "The book will help you understand how growing up in rural Georgia in a house without running water, electricity, or insulation shaped — for better and for worse — his time in the White House."

The stories may be from another time, but Gates says they carry a distinct timeliness as people's trust in political institutions (and the people running them) are at near rock-bottom.

"Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah

Noah, host of "The Daily Show,"recounts his experiences growing up with a black South African mother and a white Swiss father in apartheid South Africa in the late 1980s.

His book is equal mixture heartbreaking memoir and laugh-filled comedy, according to Gates, a self-admitted longtime fan of "The Daily Show."

"Much of Noah's story of growing up in South Africa is tragic," he says. "Yet, as anyone who watches his nightly monologues knows, his moving stories will often leave you laughing."

Vacation home prices have skyrocketed in recent years, causing home sales to fall.

According to a report from the National Association of Realtors, vacation home sales declined by 18.5% between 2014 and 2015.

Buying a second home by the beach has become impossible for many Americans, including millennials and others who can barely afford to buy their first homes.

But not all beach towns are expensive. In some places, the median home value falls below $120,000.

For anyone interested in owning a first or second home by the beach, we took a look at the country’s most affordable beach towns.

Study specifics

To find the most affordable beach towns in America, SmartAsset collected Census Bureau data on 221 different coastal cities. We used the same four factors that we considered in the 2016 edition of our study: the median home value, the median amount of annual property taxes paid, the median annual amount of housing costs paid and the median number of rooms per house. For more information about how we conducted our study, you can refer to the data and methodology section below.

Key findings

• It's a tie. Both Florida and Mississippi have four cities that rank among the top 10 most affordable beach towns in America.
• Avoid the West Coast. Based on our analysis, only three of the top 25 most affordable beach towns lie off the coast of the Pacific Ocean: Coos Bay, Oregon; Port Angeles, Washington and Bremerton, Washington.

SEE ALSO: How to decide where you should retire

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1. Gulfport, Mississippi

Gulfport ranks as the No.1 most affordable beach town in America for the second consecutive year. The median home value is just $117,300 and residents spend only $926 on property taxes annually.

Buying a beach house in Gulfport could be worth considering, especially if you’re ready to leave the workplace. The city has golf courses, casinos and a number of bars and restaurants. Plus, Mississippi ranks as one of the best states for an early retirement.

2. Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola takes the No. 2 spot on our list in the 2016 and 2017 editions of our study. The average homeowner in Pensacola can expect to spend around $1,081 on property taxes. Total housing costs for the typical resident add up to $10,164.

Aside from being a beach town, Pensacola is home to the National Naval Aviation Museum, a couple of amusement parks and several different parks. Local residents also get to enjoy free shows put on by the Navy’s Blue Angels twice a year.

3. (TIE) Biloxi, Mississippi

Biloxi is known for its casinos. Some of the most popular ones include the Beau Rivage and the IP Casino. If you find yourself traveling to Biloxi often, why not buy a beach house in the area? A typical resident may spend about $9,444 on housing costs, including mortgage payments, utilities and homeowners insurance. Compared to housing costs in other beach towns, that’s relatively low.