use the equality operator of the exp value in equal assertions

This switches the order of the equality comparison in
`assert_equal` to prefer the equality operator of the expected
value.  The idea is that the expected value is known and intended
so it should be the "basis" for the equality test as opposed to
the actual value that is unknown not always intended.

This is a very subtle change that really only comes into play when
you are comparing two objects that both define a custom equality
operator.

Closes #184.

@jcredding ready for review.