Stolen Mac traced with anti-theft software, and more

Stolen Mac traced with anti-theft software

When Joshua Kaufman of Oakland, Calif., reported his laptop stolen, police told him they lacked the resources to take the case. It turned out he had his own in the form of a program called Hidden, which he used to track the laptop’s movements and take pictures of the purported thief. Kaufman posted the photos to his new blog, “This Guy Has My MacBook,” which became an Internet sensation and spurred police to identify and arrest limo driver Muthanna Aldebashi. “It was a relief that all my effort paid off,” said Kaufman, who now has his laptop and 5,000 new followers on Twitter.

Soldier redirects grenade to save buddies

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Army Ranger Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Arthur Petry had already taken a bullet through both legs during a 2008 firefight in Afghanistan when a live grenade landed nearby. As he tried to toss it away from his fellow soldiers, it detonated and blew off his hand. For his “conspicuous gallantry,” Petry will receive the Medal of Honor at the White House in July. Petry, of Santa Fe, said he found it “very humbling to know that the guys thought that much of me and my actions that day, to nominate me for that.”

Owner saves dog buried under 45 tons of rock

Chasing a feral cat left Jessie, a 4-year-old Jack Russell terrier, trapped beneath two massive boulders near Ballarat, Australia. And there she might have ended if not for the fierce loyalty of her owner, Steve Porter. He was able to feed the dog some liver snaked in on a piece of wire, but couldn’t budge the rocks with mere crowbars and jacks. So Porter paid for state workers to bring in a hydraulic ram, which moved 45 tons of rock to free Jessie, tired but unharmed, after 100 hours. “Dogs are man’s best friend,” Porter said. “We felt we owed it to her.”