diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index 540fcb8..88355cc 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 * Specs and bug fixes for the ActiveRecordPersistence, keeping persistence columns in sync
   Allowing for nil values in states for active record
+  Only set state to default state before_validation_on_create
+  New rake task to uninstall, build and reinstall the gem (useful for development)
   New non-(!) methods that allow for firing events without persisting [Jeff Dean]
 
 * Added aasm_states_for_select that will return a select friendly collection of states. 
diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index 9ea235b..e60794d 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -22,9 +22,9 @@ end
 $package_version = CURRENT_VERSION
 
 PKG_FILES = FileList['[A-Z]*',
-                     'lib/**/*.rb',
-                     'doc/**/*'
-                    ]
+'lib/**/*.rb',
+'doc/**/*'
+]
 
 desc 'Generate documentation for the acts as state machine plugin.'
 rd = Rake::RDocTask.new(:rdoc) do |rdoc|
@@ -45,8 +45,8 @@ else
     s.version = $package_version
     s.summary = 'State machine mixin for Ruby objects'
     s.description = <<-EOF
-AASM is a continuation of the acts as state machine rails plugin, built for plain Ruby objects.
-EOF
+    AASM is a continuation of the acts as state machine rails plugin, built for plain Ruby objects.
+    EOF
     s.files = PKG_FILES.to_a
     s.require_path = 'lib'
     s.has_rdoc = true
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ else
     t.rcov = true
     t.rcov_opts = ['--exclude', 'spec']
   end
-  
+
   desc "Run all examples"
   Spec::Rake::SpecTask.new('spec') do |t|
     t.spec_files = FileList['spec/**/*.rb']
@@ -82,4 +82,13 @@ else
   end
 end
 
+if !defined?(Gem)
+  puts "Package target requires RubyGEMs"
+else
+  desc "sudo gem uninstall aasm && rake gem && sudo gem install pkg/aasm-3.0.0.gem"
+  task :reinstall do
+    puts `sudo gem uninstall aasm && rake gem && sudo gem install pkg/aasm-3.0.0.gem`
+  end
+end
+
 task :default => [:spec]
diff --git a/lib/persistence/active_record_persistence.rb b/lib/persistence/active_record_persistence.rb
index 42b3c79..9488143 100644
--- a/lib/persistence/active_record_persistence.rb
+++ b/lib/persistence/active_record_persistence.rb
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@ module AASM
       # * WriteState
       # * WriteStateWithoutPersistence
       #
+      # Adds
+      #
+      #   before_validation_on_create :aasm_ensure_initial_state
+      #
       # As a result, it doesn't matter when you define your methods - the following 2 are equivalent
       #
       #   class Foo < ActiveRecord::Base
@@ -94,13 +98,20 @@ module AASM
 
         private
         
-        # Called from before_validation_on_create to ensure
-        # that if there is a nil value in the underlying aasm_state
-        # column, the initial state is used instead
+        # Ensures that if the aasm_state column is nil and the record is new
+        # that the initial state gets populated before validation on create
         #
         #   foo = Foo.new
-        #   foo.save
-        #   foo.aasm_state # => the initial state
+        #   foo.aasm_state # => nil
+        #   foo.valid?
+        #   foo.aasm_state # => "open" (where :open is the initial state)
+        #
+        #
+        #   foo = Foo.find(:first)
+        #   foo.aasm_state # => 1
+        #   foo.aasm_state = nil
+        #   foo.valid?
+        #   foo.aasm_state # => nil
         #
         def aasm_ensure_initial_state
           send("#{self.class.aasm_column}=", self.aasm_current_state.to_s)