diff --git a/OTRestClient.h b/OTRestClient.h
index 7fcbd2bf..573ed209 100644
--- a/OTRestClient.h
+++ b/OTRestClient.h
@@ -59,11 +59,24 @@
  */
 + (OTRestClient*)clientWithBaseURL:(NSString*)baseURL username:(NSString*)username password:(NSString*)password;
 
+/**
+ *  Will check for network connectivity (to google.com)
+ */
+- (BOOL)isNetworkAvailable;
+
 /**
  * Fetch a resource via an HTTP GET and invoke a callback with the resulting payload
  */
 - (OTRestRequest*)get:(NSString*)resourcePath delegate:(id)delegate callback:(SEL)callback;
 
+/**
+ * Fetch a resource via an HTTP GET with a dictionary of params and invoke a callback with the resulting payload
+ *
+ * Note that this request _only_ allows NSDictionary objects as the params. The dictionary will be coerced into a URL encoded
+ * string and then appended to the resourcePath as the query string of the request.
+ */
+- (OTRestRequest*)get:(NSString*)resourcePath params:(NSDictionary*)params delegate:(id)delegate callback:(SEL)callback;
+
 /**
  * Create a resource via an HTTP POST with a set of form parameters and invoke a callback with the resulting payload
  */
diff --git a/OTRestClient.m b/OTRestClient.m
index 1b6d16dc..f256a1fa 100644
--- a/OTRestClient.m
+++ b/OTRestClient.m
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 
 #import "OTRestClient.h"
 #import "OTRestModelLoader.h"
+#import <SystemConfiguration/SCNetworkReachability.h>
 
 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 // global
@@ -66,6 +67,25 @@ static OTRestClient* sharedClient = nil;
 	[super dealloc];
 }
 
+- (BOOL)isNetworkAvailable {
+	Boolean success;    
+	
+	const char *host_name = "google.com"; // your data source host name
+	
+	SCNetworkReachabilityRef reachability = SCNetworkReachabilityCreateWithName(NULL, host_name);
+#ifdef TARGET_OS_IPHONE || TARGET_IPHONE_SIMULATOR
+	SCNetworkReachabilityFlags flags;
+#else
+	SCNetworkConnectionFlags flags;
+#endif
+	success = SCNetworkReachabilityGetFlags(reachability, &flags);
+	BOOL isNetworkAvailable = success && (flags & kSCNetworkFlagsReachable) && !(flags & kSCNetworkFlagsConnectionRequired);
+	CFRelease(reachability);
+	
+	return isNetworkAvailable;
+	
+}
+
 - (NSURL*)URLForResourcePath:(NSString*)resourcePath {
 	NSString* urlString = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@%@", self.baseURL, resourcePath];
 	return [NSURL URLWithString:urlString];
@@ -78,6 +98,14 @@ static OTRestClient* sharedClient = nil;
 	return request;
 }
 
+- (OTRestRequest*)get:(NSString*)resourcePath params:(NSDictionary*)params delegate:(id)delegate callback:(SEL)callback {
+	NSString* resourcePathWithQueryString = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@?%@", resourcePath, [params URLEncodedString]];
+	OTRestRequest* request = [[OTRestRequest alloc] initWithURL:[self URLForResourcePath:resourcePathWithQueryString] delegate:delegate callback:callback];
+	request.additionalHTTPHeaders = _HTTPHeaders;
+	[request get];
+	return request;
+}
+
 - (OTRestRequest*)post:(NSString*)resourcePath params:(NSObject<OTRestRequestSerializable>*)params delegate:(id)delegate callback:(SEL)callback {
 	OTRestRequest* request = [[OTRestRequest alloc] initWithURL:[self URLForResourcePath:resourcePath] delegate:delegate callback:callback];
 	request.additionalHTTPHeaders = _HTTPHeaders;
diff --git a/OTRestManagedModel.m b/OTRestManagedModel.m
index 67a72833..178bb991 100644
--- a/OTRestManagedModel.m
+++ b/OTRestManagedModel.m
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 //
 
 #import "OTRestManagedModel.h"
-
+#import <objc/runtime.h>
 
 @implementation OTRestManagedModel
 
@@ -15,7 +15,8 @@
 #pragma mark NSManagedObject helper methods
 
 + (NSEntityDescription*)entity {
-	return [NSEntityDescription entityForName:[[self class] className] inManagedObjectContext:myContext];
+	NSString* className = [NSString stringWithCString:class_getName([self class])];
+	return [NSEntityDescription entityForName:className inManagedObjectContext:myContext];
 }
 
 + (NSFetchRequest*)request {