Miscellany

class Status < ActiveRecord::Base
  DRAFT = Status.find_by_name('draft')
  PUBLISHED = Status.find_by_name('published')
end   

class Topic < ActiveRecord::Base
  ...
  ...

  def clone
    duplicate = super
    duplicate.status_id = Status::DRAFT.id    ## ERROR - DRAFT is nil
    duplicate
  end
  
end