there are nicer ways than execute, btw: you can use any of the other connection methods. This is how I get a list of matching tags for an ajax autocompleter:

Tag.connection.select_values(“SELECT name FROM #{Tag.table_name} where account_id = #{current_account.id} and name like ‘#{params[:stem]}%’”)

Nasty, but efficient. More possibilities at http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/ActiveRecord/ConnectionAdapters/DatabaseStatements.html

best,

will