sub get_actual_dir {
    my ($path) = @_;

    if(chdir "$path") {
        # CDing into a directory and then calling /bin/pwd should normalize whatever
        # strange input might be given to us by the user.
        my $actual_dir = `/bin/pwd`;
        chomp $actual_dir;
        return $actual_dir;
    } else {
        die "Can't cd into <$path>: $!\n";
    }
}