>I hate to ask the obvious, but...
>
>1) is unionfs in your kernel?

yes.

>2) does your shell do the right thing with ~/

yes (ksh; I tried absolute paths as well).
-- 
Matt Thomas               Internet:   matt@3am-software.com
3am Software Foundry      WWW URL:    http://www.3am-software.com/bio/matt.html
Nashua, NH                Disclaimer: I disavow all knowledge of this message