>I do know that the first thing to do is to go through your collection
>and dump what is not worthwhile keeping.
I'm not sure why you say this in such an authoritative tone, but this is a great example of something you *shouldn't* do. There's nothing to say that a shot that you're not particularly fond of today will remain so forever. This is especially true when you shoot in RAW, since there's so much to work with and techniques you can learn to salvage a so-so picture.

Moreover, your attitude of 'I have a laptop with an internal disk and don't wish to change' is a terrible one to have. If your data's security is important to you, you'll need to expand your horizons quite a bit.

I like how the OP mentions Joel Spolsky when he's written several articles talking about just this situation and how it never works.

It must be nice to be a manager, picking and choosing the kinds of information you choose to retain.

I'm not committing a crime at the moment, but who knows what will *become* a crime in the future? And at that point, just think about how useful all this logged data will be.

The best part is that in our media-washed modern society, you wouldn't even need to be accused of a crime. Some bit of data you once thought private can be aired and you'll face the prison of public opinion and hearsay.

It should be assumed that any information you post on a system that doesn't belong to you (and even some that do...) is being peered at by someone that wants to put their nose where it doesn't belong.

We used to live in a society where a comment like 'Oh, but why would they look at you if you're unimportant?' would have been valid, but with the ever-encroaching nemesis of data mining and algorithmic analysis making itself part of our daily lives you have to assume that, at any moment, every transaction you make is being scrutinized.