While the mainland is still shaking off the last grips of winter, summertime fun is in full swing in Hawaii, where Mai Tais are being shaken and Pacific breezes are stirring up palm fronds.

Traveling to the farthest-flung state isn't cheap, but we've tracked down properties that are luxurious beyond their under-$250-a-night price tag.

The Big Island has low prices and great hotels can be found in a decent price range on Oahu, but stick to Honolulu and Waikiki Beach for the best bargains.

Start planning your island getaway to one of these 10 affordable hotels today.

Waianuhea on the Big Island

The Big Island has plenty of bang-for-your-buck finds, but also its fair share of cheap spots that have seen better days. The eco-forest retreat of Waianuhea (from $225 a night) on the slopes of Mauna Kea is one of the former. The cute and colorful queen-bedded A’Ala room has its own private entrance and views of the distant ocean. The second room, Olu’olu, also has spectacular views and on a clear morning, you can spot the top of Mauna Kea. In Waianuhea’s Great Room, take in superb views next to the lava rock fireplace.

Inside Tip: You could see this B&B as remote, or you could simply enjoy rural Hawaii life, with Waipio waterfall, Waimea Parker Ranch, and black-sand beaches all within easy reach. After a long day (with advanced notice), the B&B owners can arrange for a three-course private dinner at the hotel.

Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor’s Big Island Guide

Hapuna Beach Resort on the Big Island

You can splash in the same waters and bound along on the same white sands as guests at the legendary Mauna Kea Beach Hotel yet pay half the price at Hapuna Beach Prince Resort (from $235 a night). The recently remodeled 350 rooms are the largest on the Kohala Coast, averaging about 600 square feet. At dinner time, a van shuttles guests between the Mauna Kea and Hapuna to expand dining options. The hotel features an 18-hole golf course and snorkeling, as well as a high-powered telescope with a professional astronomer as a guide.

Insider Tip: Snorkel at the north end of Hapuna Beach at the aptly named Turtle Cove. Honu (green sea turtles) often swim here.

Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor’s Big Island Guide

Volcano Rainforest Retreat on the Big Island

At an altitude of 3,800 feet, the four cottages of Volcano Rainforest Retreat (from $180 a night) are hidden within the mossy green forest near Volcano Village. The fresh mountain air packs enough chill to require the use of in-room fireplaces. If that doesn’t do the trick, try the private o’furo (soaking tub) in the Japanese-inspired Sanctuary cottage. Volcano-seekers are ideally located close to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and the most active volcano on Earth, Kilauea Volcano.

Insider Tip: Two nights here is ideal, as you’ll likely want to move to the sunnier coasts for a beach vacation. This area gets 100 inches of rain per year.

Plan Your Trip: Visit Fodor’s Big Island Guide

Just in case you don't already have enough restaurants on your hit list, we've uncovered even more cool places for you to try out.

From restaurants in secret alleyways to eateries located behind everyday storefronts, you'll be surprised to learn about these hidden dining establishments.

So, what are you waiting for? Click through for our guide to secret restaurants in NYC, and let the adventures begin!

Click here to see the secret restaurants >>

Bohemian

58 Great Jones Street

Bohemian is arguably the most coveted secret restaurant in NYC right now. Unfortunately, the one secret we can't let out (and the most important one), is Bohemian's phone number.

If you don't have a personal recommendation here, try emailing ny-info@playearth.jp or come in person to put in a request.

This trendy NoHo restaurant is stashed behind a Japanese butcher shop and offers top quality Japanese cuisine including a $55 six-course tasting menu.

La Esquina

114 Kenmare Street

Most foodies have probably heard about La Esquina, but unless you've made a reservation here, walked passed the casual taqueria, down the stairs and through the restaurant's kitchen, you probably don't know much about this place.

Akhtar Nawab is the mastermind behind this secret Mexican restaurant, offering favorites like the Mexican style grilled corn and a selection of authentic tacos.

Freemans

191 Chrystie Street

Between the Bowery and Chrystie, off Rivington Street, you'll spot the secret "Freeman Alley," at the end of which is Freemans, a cozy restaurant offering American fare.

The restaurant is decorated like an old-school hunting lodge with wooden chairs and an array of taxidermy on the walls. While dining at Freemans, be sure to order the hot artichoke dip served with crunchy bread crisps.

The summer blockbuster season is not usually a bonanza of great acting, but there's star reputations that need to be proven, breakout supporting character actors to look out for, and maybe even potential Oscar candidates in the mix among all the special effects and wacky comedies.

Our summer movie preview continues today with some of the most interesting acting turns to look out for, be it from a business perspective or an awards perspective.

Summer movies and actors to watch for >

Emily Blunt, "Edge of Tomorrow"

Director: Doug Liman

Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Jeremy Piven, Lara Pulver, Charlotte Riley         

Edge of Tomorrow is yet another Tom Cruise project with a solid enough concept that seems to lack soul (see also: Oblivion). It's Groundhog Day, but with a space war versus aliens! Humans weird metal exoskeletons, battling some unknown force, with Cruise playing a soldier who gets caught in a time loop on his last day alive. Still with us?

Well, from the trailers, Emily Blunt seems like the most interesting aspect by far. After breaking out in The Devil Wears Prada, she's been handed a bunch of uninspired roles, and Edge of Tomorrow might be another throwaway supporting part that doesn't match up to her obvious talent. But as a bad-ass warrior who went through what Cruise's character experienced and helps train him into the ultimate weapon, Blunt might finally be able to have some fun.

Release Date: June 6

Jon Hamm, "Million Dollar Arm"

Director: Craig Gillespie

Starring: Jon Hamm, Bill Paxton (again!?), Lake Bell, Alan Arkin, Aasif Mandvi, Tzi Ma

Let's be honest: Million Dollar Arm does not look like it's re-inventing the wheel. Despite its somewhat interesting director (Gillespie also made Lars and the Real Girl and the Fright Night remake), and writer (Thomas McCarthy of The Station Agent and others) this PG-rated, Disney-produced real-life story of a baseball agent who goes to India in search of hot pitchers is your classic softball culture-clash tale, likely to be loaded with jokes about cricket and spicy food.

But it's important to know that this is the first time Jon Hamm is opening a movie by his lonesome. Yes, he received high billing in The Town, but this is Hamm as movie star. Will his natural charisma be on display, and will it make a difference? I can't imagine expectations for Million Dollar Arm are sky-high, box-office wise, but Disney will be hoping for a higher take than Draft Day could scrounge up this weekend.

Release Date: May 16

Ansel Elgort, "The Fault in Our Stars"

Director: Josh Boone

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, Mike Birbiglia, Willem Dafoe, Cancer

Who is Ansel Elgort? Right now, he's just someone with the name of a Game of Thrones character. He was in the Carrie remake last year, but no one saw Carrie, so let's forget about that for now. He's sure handsome, I suppose, in a boyish sort of way.

Most importantly, he's the star of this buzzy adaptation of a young adult novel that is sure to have teens weeping in the aisles this Sunday. It's about cancer and romance and it's based on a book that some of my friends talk about in hushed tones. So even if I'm a little skeptical, if the film really hits, Elgort could conceivably reach "next big thing" status. Maybe.

Release Date: June 6

With May right around the corner, U.S. college graduates will be migrating to the nation's biggest cities to try to find jobs and apartments and to start life on their own.

Niche Ink, a website dedicated to education analysis, put together a list of the best metro areas for millennials. They ranked the metro areas in the U.S. using a dozen factors, including data from the U.S. Census, FBI crime rates, and Niche Ink user opinions on the best places for life after graduation. They then calculated the best neighborhood for young people in each of those cities. (You can read the full methodology here.)

Keep reading to see the top 25 cities and neighborhoods in the U.S. for millennials.

#25 Ardmore in Atlanta

Ardmore, a residential neighborhood that’s friendly and dog-oriented, is known for its gorgeous park.

14% of its population is aged 25 to 34, and it has a median rent of $937. The average income is $29,863.

The Niche Ink ranked metro areas in the United States using a dozen factors, including data from the U.S. Census, FBI crime rates, and its users opinions on the best places to life after graduation. You can read the full methodology here.

#24 Lake Eola Heights in Orlando, Fla.

Lake Eola Heights is a safe community in downtown Orlando with a selection of condos as well as historic homes.

The median rent in Lake Eola Heights is $1,018 with residents averaging a median income of $25,330; 14% of residents are 25 to 34 years old.

The Niche Ink ranked metro areas in the United States using a dozen factors, including data from the U.S. Census, FBI crime rates, and its users opinions on the best places to life after graduation. You can read the full methodology here.

#23 Shockoe Bottom in Richmond, Va.

Shockoe Bottom is east of downtown Richmond along the James River, and it's become a major destination in nightlife, dining, and entertainment.

13% of its population is aged 25 to 34, and it has a median rent of $921. The average income is $30,324.

The Niche Ink ranked metro areas in the United States using a dozen factors, including data from the U.S. Census, FBI crime rates, and its users opinions on the best places to life after graduation. You can read the full methodology here.

We are now three weeks into the regular season and while there is a long way to go, we are already seeing which teams are putting themselves in a good position to make playoff runs.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals remain the top teams in baseball. But maybe the most impressive team early on has been the Giants, who made the biggest jump up the rankings.

At the other end, the Arizona Diamondbacks have struggled out of the gate and had the biggest fall and are now one of the five worst teams in baseball.

#1 Los Angeles Dodgers (10-6)

Previous Ranking: 1

Expected Record*: 9.4 - 6.6

PECOTA Projected Wins: 97

Playoff Odds: 88.5%

PECOTA Projected Wins and Playoff Odds via BaseballProspectus.com

* Expected Record (AKA Pythagorean Record) is the record a team would be expected to have based on how many runs they have scored and allowed.

#2 St. Louis Cardinals (10-6)

Previous Ranking: 2

Expected Record*: 9.5-6.5

PECOTA Projected Wins: 89

Playoff Odds: 69.6%

* Expected Record (AKA Pythagorean Record) is the record a team would be expected to have based on how many runs they have scored and allowed.

#3 San Francisco Giants (10-6)

Previous Ranking: 9

Expected Record*: 9.2-6.8

PECOTA Projected Wins: 89

Playoff Odds: 65.9%

* Expected Record (AKA Pythagorean Record) is the record a team would be expected to have based on how many runs they have scored and allowed.

The New York International Auto Show, the most popular auto show in North America, opens to the public this weekend. 

If you're in the area and want to see the future of the auto industry, it's worth making the trek over to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center before the show closes on April 27. 

We were on the scene for the press-preview days to check out what the world's biggest automakers have been working on.

From the gorgeous new Corvette convertible to the latest Rolls-Royce to the future of the iconic Land Rover Discovery, here are the cars you won't want to miss while you're there.

The engine under the hood of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT cranks out 430 horsepower, good for a 0 to 60 time of 4.6 seconds. Even better is the unusually low price tag for the British luxury mark: $99,900. And to top it all off, the GT comes with a standard manual transmission.

After a two-decade hiatus, Alfa Romeo has finally returned to the U.S. market, and its ambassador is the lovely 4C sports car. Thanks to lightweight construction and sleek aerodynamics, the 4C should hit a top speed of 160 mph and run from 0 to 60 mph in about 4.5 seconds.

This week is the 50th birthday of the iconic Mustang, and Ford pulled out all the stops to mark the occasion. That included bringing a car to the top of the Empire State Building and a special edition car, complete with retro styling to complement modern performance.

Miami’s temperatures may be rising, but this city’s hot reputation is thanks to its muy caliente scene more so than its sunny weather.

From the beaches to the bars, from the restaurants to the clubs, Miami is home to a slew of hot spots – and many of the most desirable party destinations are in the area’s gorgeous hotels.

Here are our top ten picks for the hottest hot spot hotels in the “Magic City.”

Delano Hotel

The Delano’s sexy all-white rooms may not come cheap, but the hefty price tag simply adds to the cool factor at this Philippe Starck-designed hot spot.

Guests party by the pool by day and end their nights at the ever-popular Rose Bar, which has hosted celebs such as Dwayne Wade and Justin Timberlake.

James Royal Palm

Reopened in 2012 under the James brand, this gorgeously restored property is one of the newest luxury hotels in Miami.

Located in the hip Art Deco Historic District, the hotel attracts guests with its hot on-site restaurant and club, Catch Miami and SL Miami respectively, both of which have popular sister properties in New York City.

W South Beach

Right on the sand in South Beach, the W is an uber-sexy retreat with a hot poolside scene, complete with cabanas and bottle service.

Two trendy restaurants and an outpost of Bliss Spa also help to make this hotel one of the hottest spots in Miami.

Major League Soccer is growing in popularity in North America and attendance figures show the sport does very well at the local level.

However, the league still lacks star power and player salaries are not even close to being on the same level as other major sports on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Despite importing aging international stars (e.g. David Beckham and Thierry Henry) and American stars still in their primes (e.g. Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey), the average MLS player makes just $208,000.

There are only 12 players who will make at least $1.0 million in total compensation this year and the total payroll for the entire league ($115.3 million) is less than half that of the Los Angeles Dodgers roster ($235.3 million).

On the next few pages we'll take a look at the 10 highest-paid players in MLS and how their salaries compare to other sports.

No. 10 Pedro Morales — $1.4 Million

Club: Vancouver Whitecaps

Position: Midfielder

10th highest-paid in other sports

NFL: Ndamukong Suh (Lions), $12.6 million

MLB: Albert Pujols (Angels), $23.0 million

NBA: Dwyane Wade (Heat), $18.7 million

NHL: Rick Nash (Rangers), $7.8 million

No. 9 Obafemi Martins — $1.8 Million

Club: Seattle Sounders

Position: Forward

9th highest-paid in other sports

NFL: Gerald McCoy (Bucs), $12.7 million

MLB: Joe Mauer (Twins), $23.0 million

NBA: Chris Bosh (Heat), $19.1 million

NHL: Marian Hossa (Blackhawks), $7.9 million

No. 8 Marco Di Vaio — $2.6 Million

Club: Montreal Impact

Position: Forward

8th highest-paid in other sports

NFL: Greg Hardy (Panthers), $13.1 million

MLB: CC Sabathia (Yankees), $23.0 million

NBA: LeBron James (Heat), $19.1 million

NHL: Steven Stamkos (Lightning), $8.0 million

The retail industry is undergoing a dramatic shift: E-commerce is capturing a larger share of sales than ever before. 

We've created a slideshow highlighting the retail categories where e-commerce is having the most impact, and where there is still opportunity for disruption. The shift away from physical retail toward digital retail is happening faster than many observers expected. 

BI Intelligence is a research and analysis service focused on mobile computing, digital media, payments, and e-commerce. Only subscribers can download the individual charts and datasets in Excel, along with the PowerPoint and PDF versions of this deck. Please sign up for a free trial here.

Hyperinflationary episodes have appeared several times over the past century — 55, to be exact— as the world's nations have experimented with fiat currencies backed by the full faith and credit of the governments that issue them.

At times, that full faith and credit has been misplaced — and holders of unstable currencies have been caught empty-handed in countries all over the world.

Often, this is can be a recurring theme among developing nations like those in Latin America during the debt crisis that struck the region in the 1980s.

Even some of the largest economies in the world today, though — like China, Germany, and France — have suffered devastating hyperinflationary episodes.

A major historical precursor of hyperinflation is war that destroys the capital stock of an economy and dramatically reduces output — but the misplaced monetary and fiscal policies that ensue are almost always part of the story.

Economists Steve Hanke and Nicholas Krus compiled data on all 56 recorded hyperinflations in a 2012 study. We summarize 9 of the worst episodes here.

Hungary: August 1945 - July 1946

Daily inflation rate: 207 percent

Prices doubled every: 15 hours

Story: Hungary was economically devastated by WWII. Owing to its unfortunate status as a warzone, estimates indicate 40 percent of Hungary's capital stock was destroyed in the conflict. Before this, it had engaged in a wild, debt-fueled ramp up in production to support the German war effort, but Germany never paid for the goods.

When Hungary signed a peace treaty with the Allies in 1945, it was ordered to pay the Soviets massive reparations, which accounted for 25-50 percent of Hungary's budget during its hyperinflationary episode. Meanwhile, the country's monetary policy was essentially co-opted by the Allied Control Commission.

Hungarian central bankers warned that printing money to pay the bills would not end well, but "the Soviets, who dominated the Commission, turned a deaf ear to these warnings, which led some to conclude that the hyperinflation was designed to achieve a political objective–the destruction of the middle class" (Bomberger and Makinen 1983).

Sources: Hanke and Crus (2012), Bomberger and Makinen (1983)

Zimbabwe: March 2007 - November 2008

Daily inflation rate: 98 percent

Prices doubled every: 25 hours

Story: Zimbabwe's hyperinflation was preceded by a long, grinding decline in economic output that followed Robert Mugabe's land reforms of 2000-2001, through which land was expropriated largely from white farmers and redistributed to the majority black populace. This led to a 50 percent collapse in output over the next nine years.

Socialist reforms and a costly involvement in Congo's civil war led to outsized government budget deficits. At the same time, the Zimbabwean population was declining as people fled the country. These two opposing factors of increased government spending and a decreasing tax base caused the government to resort to monetization of its fiscal deficit.

Sources: Hanke and Crus (2012), Koech (2011)

Yugoslavia/Republika Srpska: April 1992 - January 1994

Daily inflation rate: 65 percent

Prices doubled every: 34 hours

Story: The fall of the Soviet Union led to a decreased international role for Yugoslavia –formerly a key geopolitical player connecting East and West – and its ruling Communist party eventually came under the same pressure as the Soviets did. This led to a breakup of Yugoslavia into several countries along ethnic lines and subsequent wars over the following years as the newly-formed political entities sorted out their independence.

In the process, trade among regions of the former Yugoslavia collapsed, and industrial output followed. At the same time, an international embargo was placed on Yugoslavian exports, which further crushed output. 

Petrovic, Bogetic, and Vujosevic (1998) explain that the newly-formed Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in contrast with other states that broke away like Serbia and Croatia, retained much of the bloated bureaucracy that existed before the split, contributing to the federal deficit. In an attempt to monetize this and other deficits, the central bank lost control of money creation and caused hyperinflation.

Sources: Hanke and Crus (2012), Petrovic, Bogetic, and Vujosevic (1998)

If you work on Wall Street, you might realize that life might be just a little better on the buy-side versus the sell-side. 

Folks who work for hedge funds tend to get bigger salaries and better hours compared to investment bankers.  Not to mention, they also have a more relaxed dress code (loafers, slacks and a fleece vest).

What's more is some hedge funds have some really sweet perks for their employees. These range anywhere from making sure the employees are well-fed to team vacations in the Bahamas.     

We spoke to some hedge fund sources who spilled about which funds have these awesome perks.  We also did our own research on the web to dig up other perks.

If we're missing any bigs ones, feel free to send an email to jlaroche@businessinsider.com. 

Marc Lasry's Avenue Capital has free ordered-in breakfast. Not a bad way to start the day.

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square has a state-of-the-art gym at its 888 Seventh Avenue headquarters. We hear that there's also a personal trainer who comes in.

Blackstone, a private equity/investment banking/hedge fund firm, has an in-house shoe shine person.

Source: Dealbook, William Alden

Apple, unlike any other company in the world, has its identity tied to one individual: Steve Jobs.

And without question, Jobs was the driving force that turned Apple into the world's most valuable tech company.

But, Jobs didn't do it alone.

We decided to take a look at the first 10 employees at Apple, and see what they did and where they are today.

Apple's first CEO, Michael Scott, gave us a bunch of color on the early days, and Steve Wozniak helped with a list of early employees, though it was based on his memory. We got our full list from another early employee. 

The Apple employee numbers aren't the order each person joined the company. When Scott came to Apple he had to give out numbers to each employee to make life easier for the payroll department.

10. Gary Martin was in charge of accounting

Martin thought Apple was going to flop, but joined the company anyway. He stayed at Apple until 1983. From Apple he jumped to Starstruck, a company working on space travel. For the next few decades he moved from one CFO position to another at a few companies. Martin is now a private investor and is on the board of cloud company LeoNovus, where he was named CFO in December.

9. Sherry Livingston was the right hand for Apple's first CEO

Livingston was the first secretary at Apple and she did a lot. Michael Scott, who hired her, said she basically did all the odds and ends work for Apple in the early days. She recently became a grandmother, and we're not sure if or where she's working now.

8. Chris Espinoza was working at Apple part time in high school

Chris Espinosa joined Apple when he was 14, and still in high school. It looks like he's still with the company today. On his personal blog he said he ended up as employee No. 8 because when CEO Michael "Scotty" Scott was giving out numbers, he was at school. He arrived late and ended up with the "wrong" number.

More than 15 years after earning the Coen brothers an Oscar, Fargo is getting a reboot, this time on television. 

Early reviews of the pilot, which premieres tonight on FX, point to TV Fargo being an appropriate replacement for the dark, gritty, weirdly comic void left by True Detective and Breaking Bad.

The teasers for the show, along with a uniformly captivating cast that includes Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton, and Saul Goodman Bob Odenkirk, suggest the same. But it's understandable if you find yourself leery about this new incarnation of the Coen classic.

The transition of source material from big-screen one-off to episodic television series has been done before to varying degrees of success, none of which meet the high bars set by the shows mentioned above. To understand where Fargo may exist in the greater TV landscape, let's look back on the good, the bad, and the ugly of film-to-TV adaptations.

Other shows based on your favorite movies >

The Good: "Friday Night Lights"

Movie premiere: 2004 

Show run: 2006-2011

Metacritic Rating: 70 (film), 78 (show)

Why it worked: This wasn't just a sports movie broken into 22 episodes. Friday Night Lights took advantage of the television format, using the stretch run of the season to develop characters and expand the Dillon, Texas universe. The focus was on the relationships, including arguably the most realistic and compelling TV marriage ever. Also, Coach Taylor is a god, a molder of men. You'll wish he was your dad. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose with this one.

The Good: "Buffy The Vampire Slayer"

Movie premiere: 1992

Show run: 1997-2003

Metacritic Rating: 48 (film), 80 (show)

Why it worked: To make something as preposterous sounding as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" successful, it had to be handled with some level of wink-wink self aware humor, but also had to be treated with a care and vision that proved the people involved had totally bought in. No one was prepared to work that balance better than Joss Whedon, who wrote the original film and had even more creative control over the show. He was able to build an entire world that handled itself with just the right about of seriousness.

The Good: "M*A*S*H"

Movie premiere: 1970

Show run: 1972-1983

IMDb Rating: 7.7 (film), 8.5 (show)

Why it worked: For a show about the Korean War to last 11 seasons 20 years after the actual event, it had to have one hell of a cast, and M*A*S*H certainly did. The on-screen chemistry between the actors was so palpable, viewers felt as if they too were part of the military outfit. (It also helped that M*A*S*H existed in a time before cable, but for real, the show still holds up, as does Robert Altman's darkly hilarious film.)

Other "good" considerations: Highlander, The Outsiders, Soul Food

Alibaba, the enormous Chinese e-commerce company, is about to file for an IPO in the U.S.

The two most popular Alibaba websites — Taobao and Tmall — are Chinese marketplaces and rather inaccessible if you don't know the language, but there's also Alibaba.com, an English site for sales between importers and exporters in more than 240 countries.

Alibaba.com has been known to sell different types of well-disguised counterfeit goods. Not only that, but a lot of the stuff on the site is just straight up bizarre or oddly labeled (we found quite a few normal products that for some reason had the phrase "hot" or "girl" tacked onto them).

We dug around Alibaba.com, and here are some of the gems we found:

You can find these Buddha-shaped pears for only $12 for a set.

Or how about a worm train for $30,000?

Though this product is marketed as an inflatable "castle," it looks a lot more morbid than that...

When faced with the decision of choosing between a job you love and a job that pays well, remember this: You can have your cake and eat it too.

The second annual list of the best employers in America by PayScale and Business Insider evaluates companies by both pay and happiness.

Go straight to the companies »

For the second year, New Jersey biotechnology company Celgene Corporation topped the list as the Best Employer in America. In fact, many of the best companies are in the health-care industry.

The tech industry was booming last year, with typical top companies such as Google and Yahoo taking the second and eighth spots, respectively. This year, however, tech companies took a noticeable tumble: Google dropped to No. 8 this year, Yahoo fell to No. 17, and Microsoft, which ranked No. 14 last year, fell off the map.

In creating this list, companies in the Fortune 500 were ranked using PayScale's salary and survey database. Final scores were determined by multiplying six criteria: high job satisfaction, low job stress, high work-schedule flexibility, high job meaning, experienced median pay, and salary delta (that is, how the median pay compares to other companies in the same industry). Since we think that pay is one of the most important factors, we double-weighted pay in our calculations. Read the full methodology here.

Click here to see the companies »

Click here to see an infographic with data on the 50 best companies »

Click here to see our methodology »

50. Pacific Life

Headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif., this insurance company has 2,700 employees.

Employees report high rates of work schedule flexibility (87%) and job satisfaction (60%).

Median pay is $91,000 after five years and very high compared to industry peers.

This ranking of Fortune 500 companies was created by Business Insider using data gathered and crunched by PayScale. Read the full methodology here. Find out how your salary stacks up on PayScale.

49. Exxon Mobil Corporation

Headquartered in Irving, Texas, this oil and gas company has 75,000 employees. While it claims No. 49 on our list, Exxon Mobil is No. 2 on the 2013 Fortune 500 list.

Employees report high rates of job satisfaction (77%) and work-schedule flexibility (73%).

Median pay is $104,000 after five years and very high compared to industry peers.

This ranking of Fortune 500 companies was created by Business Insider using data gathered and crunched by PayScale. Read the full methodology here. Find out how your salary stacks up on PayScale.

48. Medtronic Inc.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, this medical-device company has 45,000 employees.

Employees report high rates of job meaning (91%) and work-schedule flexibility (81%).

Median pay is $88,500 after five years and high compared to industry peers.

This ranking of Fortune 500 companies was created by Business Insider using data gathered and crunched by PayScale. Read the full methodology here. Find out how your salary stacks up on PayScale.

The weather's turning warm, and that means it's time to start daring your friends to take on that 93-mile-per-hour roller coaster ride or testing your stomach on a ride with a 415-foot drop.

We found the 15 best roller coasters in the United States, thanks to our friends at FindTheBest.

They ranked the coasters based on expert reviews, including those from Amusement Today industry magazine. FindTheBest also accounted for each ride's max height, speed, track length and largest drop.

Cedar Point and Six Flags scored big for roller coaster reputations, but there are also some hidden gems in the ranking, like a wooden coaster in Santa Claus, Ind.

15. Diamondback

Where: Kings Island in Kings Mills, Ohio

80 MPH, 230 feet high, 5,282 feet long

The Diamondback is a steel sit-down coaster that opened in 2009. The ride lasts 3 minutes.

14. Magnum XL-200

Where: Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio

72 MPH, 205 feet high, 5,106 feet long

Magnum XL-200 is a steel sit-down coaster that opened in 1989. The ride lasts 2 minutes. 

13. The Beast

Where: Kings Island in Kings Mills, Ohio 

65 MPH, 110 feet high, 7,359 feet long

The Beast is a wooden sit-down coaster that opened in 1979. The ride lasts 4:10 minutes.  

We recently recognized 50 athletes who shred on the court, field, course, or track as the uncontested alphas of their sport.

To no one's surprise, athletic dominance translates to bucket loads of money.

We ranked the 50 Most Dominant Athletes by how much money they make, using the most up to date salary figures available on Spotrac (save signing bonuses) and endorsement fees found on Forbes' 2013 list of The World's Highest-Paid Athletes.

The top 10 earners rake in a combined $496.9 million, and they sure do know how to treat themselves.

This feature is a part of our Most Dominant Athletes series.

10. Novak Djokovic – $26.5 million

Salary: $12.5 million
Endorsements: $14 million

The No. 2-ranked tennis player, sponsored by Japanese fashion powerhouse Uniqlo, lives in Monte Carlo with his fiancé and pet poodle.

One of his most expensive guilty pleasures is New Zealand-imported manuka honey, part of Djovic's weird diet. There was a rumor that he bought the world's entire supply of donkey cheese, which would have been amazing, but it turned out to not be true.

9. Peyton Manning – $27 million

Salary:$15 million
Endorsements:$12 million

The Broncos quarterback has managed to maintain a private life while also endorsing anything that moves — mostly repping "regular guy" brands, including Papa John's, DirecTV, Oreos, and MasterCard.

When he joined the Broncos in 2012, Manning locked down a $5.1 million estate outside Denver, complete with an elevator, heated floors in the master bathroom, safe room, gun room, AMX computer home manager system, and oversized seven-car heated garage.

8. Carmelo Anthony – $29.7 million

Salary:$21.2 million
Endorsements:$8.5 million

Carmelo Anthony knows he's worth every penny. Back in Denver, he added a 1964 Lincoln Continental to his car collection. Now, thanks to a little side income from Foot Locker, Degree, and Nike, the Knicks star rents a New York City apartment for $29,000 per month.

He and his reality TV star wife, LaLa, are both super stylish. Carmelo's stylist sends him new outfits (down to the socks and underwear) every few weeks.

With everything from vast deserts and gorgeous beaches to sprawling mountain ranges, America is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful countries in the world—and nowhere is that more evident than in the national parks.

The National Park Service oversees 401 areas throughout the U.S. and U.S. territories and has nearly 300 million visitors each year.

In honor of National Park Week, which begins today and runs through April 27th, we found some spectacular pictures of national parks, monuments, seashores and heritage areas around the country that will make you appreciate how beautiful the U.S. really is.

The volcanic basin of Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, formed nearly 8,000 years ago. At almost 2,000 feet deep, the lake is the deepest in the U.S.

Visitors come to hike the granite peaks, swim on the beaches, and even get married in Acadia National Park, Maine, the first national park east of the Mississippi River.

Nestled within the nearly 1.5 million acres of parkland at Everglades National Park, Florida, are endangered animals such as the manatee, American crocodile, and Florida panther.

A host of politicians, world leaders, nonprofit powerhouses, and creative minds call the nation's capital home. It's where global change takes shape and history is made.

Those changemakers eat, drink, and shop like the rest of us, and local businesses serve up all they could want and more.

Washington, D.C.'s bustling small-business scene has everything from a sustainable jewelry store to a coffee shop that uses technology to roast its beans to perfection.

The Big Board

421 H Street NE

What it is: A bar that prices drinks based on current market value.

Why it's cool: The Big Board treats beer like a commodity: The price of beer changes depending on the current supply and demand in the market, just like stocks. Beers are listed on a big board — hence the name — that displays the prices in real time, so if you're lucky you may pay less for the same beer than the guy who walks in after you.

Bits of Thread

1794 Columbia Road NW, #6

What it is: A sewing studio out to revive D.C.'s crafting scene.

Why it's cool: Bits of Thread is proving that crafting is not a dead hobby. This Adams Morgan-located sewing studio teaches group and private sewing lessons, holds open sewing sessions, and sells all the things you need to make anything out of fabric. It's also bringing more kids around to this fun and useful skill with lessons designed for smaller fingers.

The Codmother

1334 U Street NW

What it is: A combination dive bar and fish-and-chips shop.

Why it's cool: Inspired by punk, this underground pub place pays homage to The Sex Pistols and Sid Vicious while serving up some of the best beer-battered fish and chips the capital has to offer. It tries to serve only female cod, which it says has better meat and also perfectly complements the cheap PBR/whiskey specials.

If you're looking for a vacation home, or at least a home that feels like a vacation, it's worth looking in to this Lake Tahoe lakefront estate.

Located on the north shore of Tahoe's "Billionaires' Row," the house includes some serious amenities like your own private pier and beach. 

Listed by Chase International for $11.9 million, it was originally built in 1949 with large windows in almost every room to soak in the view.

And aside from the three bedrooms, the home includes a library, office, family room, and separate guesthouse.

The $11.9 million home sits on a secluded one-acre lot.

The expansive property consists of a 4,386-square-foot main house including a private patio in the back.

And there's the 785-square-foot guesthouse.