It is most important you report it to the authorities as stolen. Inform them the serial number is in the battery bay and what that serial number is. Apple basically states that in their knowledgebase article about stolen machines:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300066
In the future consider Lapcop or Lojack for your notebook. As well as a Kensington lock around an immobile part of the house (a desk is not immobile).
And always keep your data
backed up*.
- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.
Message was edited by: a brody