Yeah, you have the atomic part right (that is, in sync with what I think of as atomic). Yes, I know it does "reek" of shell script, but it is a learning experience - I just cracked open Ye Olde Camel Book and learned about the use of the => operator. => - Its not just for Hashes anymore!

Thanks. I think I will take the rest of your stylistic notes to heart as well. I al so plan on doing the dry-run rsync before the real one - it might be slower, but at least it should cut down the probability of something going awry and propogating BadMojo(tm)...

-Shane