diff --git a/README.textile b/README.textile
index cc78253b4..f6c3c5c6c 100644
--- a/README.textile
+++ b/README.textile
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@ It is a direct extraction from Shopify where the job table is responsible for a
 * spam checks 
 
 h2. Changes
-
+                                            
+* 1.7 Added failed_at column which can optionally be set after a certain amount of failed job attempts. By default failed job attempts are destroyed after about a month. 
 * 1.6 Renamed locked_until to locked_at. We now store when we start a given job instead of how long it will be locked by the worker. This allows us to get a reading on how long a job took to execute.                    
 * 1.5 Job runners can now be run in parallel. Two new database columns are needed: locked_until and locked_by. This allows us to use pessimistic locking, which enables us to run as many worker processes as we need to speed up queue processing.
 * 1.0 Initial release
@@ -29,6 +30,7 @@ The library evolves around a delayed_jobs table which looks as follows:
     table.string   :last_error
     table.datetime :run_at
     table.datetime :locked_at
+    table.datetime :failed_at
     table.string   :locked_by
     table.timestamps
   end
diff --git a/lib/delayed/job.rb b/lib/delayed/job.rb
index a03e44162..c5ceab030 100644
--- a/lib/delayed/job.rb
+++ b/lib/delayed/job.rb
@@ -6,18 +6,29 @@ class DeserializationError < StandardError
 
   class Job < ActiveRecord::Base
     MAX_ATTEMPTS = 25
+    MAX_RUN_TIME = 4.hours
     set_table_name :delayed_jobs
 
-    cattr_accessor :worker_name, :min_priority, :max_priority
-    self.worker_name = "pid:#{Process.pid}"      
-    self.min_priority = nil
-    self.max_priority = nil
-  
-    # Conditions to find tasks that are locked by this process or one that has 
-    # been created before now and is not currently locked.
-    NextTaskSQL         = "(locked_by = ?) or (run_at <= ? and (locked_at is null or locked_at < ?))"
-    NextTaskOrder       = "priority DESC, run_at ASC"
+    # By default failed jobs are destroyed after too many attempts.
+    # If you want to keep them around (perhaps to inspect the reason
+    # for the failure), set this to false.
+    cattr_accessor :destroy_failed_jobs
+    self.destroy_failed_jobs = true
+
+    # Every worker has a unique name which by default is the pid of the process. 
+    # There are some advantages to overriding this with something which survives worker retarts: 
+    # Workers can safely resume working on tasks which are locked by themselves. The worker will assume that it crashed before.
+    cattr_accessor :worker_name
+    self.worker_name = "pid:#{Process.pid}"
+
+    NextTaskSQL         = '(run_at <= ? AND (locked_at IS NULL OR locked_at < ?) OR (locked_by = ?)) AND failed_at IS NULL'
+    NextTaskOrder       = 'priority DESC, run_at ASC'
+
     ParseObjectFromYaml = /\!ruby\/\w+\:([^\s]+)/
+    
+    cattr_accessor :min_priority, :max_priority
+    self.min_priority = nil
+    self.max_priority = nil    
 
     class LockError < StandardError
     end
@@ -26,33 +37,38 @@ def self.clear_locks!
       update_all("locked_by = null, locked_at = null", ["locked_by = ?", worker_name])
     end
 
+    def failed?
+      failed_at
+    end
+    alias_method :failed, :failed?
+
     def payload_object
       @payload_object ||= deserialize(self['handler'])
-    end                 
-    
+    end
+
     def name
       text = handler.gsub(/\n/, ' ')
-      "#{id} (#{text.length > 40 ? "#{text[0..40]}..." : text})" 
+      "#{id} (#{text.length > 40 ? "#{text[0..40]}..." : text})"
     end
 
     def payload_object=(object)
       self['handler'] = object.to_yaml
     end
 
-    def reschedule(message, time = nil)
+    def reschedule(message, backtrace = [], time = nil)
       if self.attempts < MAX_ATTEMPTS
         time ||= Job.db_time_now + (attempts ** 4) + 5
 
         self.attempts    += 1
         self.run_at       = time
-        self.last_error   = message  
+        self.last_error   = message + "\n" + backtrace.join("\n")
         self.unlock
         save!
-      else    
+      else
         logger.info "* [JOB] PERMANENTLY removing #{self.name} because of #{attempts} consequetive failures."
-        destroy
+        destroy_failed_jobs ? destroy : update_attribute(:failed_at, Time.now)
       end
-    end                                  
+    end
 
     def self.enqueue(object, priority = 0)
       unless object.respond_to?(:perform)
@@ -62,12 +78,13 @@ def self.enqueue(object, priority = 0)
       Job.create(:payload_object => object, :priority => priority.to_i)
     end
 
-    def self.find_available(limit = 5)
+    def self.find_available(limit = 5, max_run_time = MAX_RUN_TIME)
       
       time_now = db_time_now          
       
       sql = NextTaskSQL.dup
-      conditions = [worker_name, time_now, time_now]
+
+      conditions = [time_now, time_now - max_run_time, worker_name]
       
       if self.min_priority
         sql << ' AND (priority >= ?)'
@@ -78,38 +95,37 @@ def self.find_available(limit = 5)
         sql << ' AND (priority <= ?)'
         conditions << max_priority         
       end
-           
+
       conditions.unshift(sql)         
-      
+            
       ActiveRecord::Base.silence do
         find(:all, :conditions => conditions, :order => NextTaskOrder, :limit => limit)
       end
     end                                    
-        
-    # Get the payload of the next job we can get an exclusive lock on. 
+      
+    # Get the payload of the next job we can get an exclusive lock on.
     # If no jobs are left we return nil
-    def self.reserve(max_run_time = 4.hours)                                                                                 
-                    
-      # We get up to 5 jobs from the db. In case we cannot get exclusive access to a job we try the next. 
-      # this leads to a more even distribution of jobs across the worker processes 
-      find_available(5).each do |job|                       
-        begin                                              
+    def self.reserve(max_run_time = MAX_RUN_TIME)
+
+      # We get up to 5 jobs from the db. In face we cannot get exclusive access to a job we try the next.
+      # this leads to a more even distribution of jobs across the worker processes
+      find_available(5, max_run_time).each do |job|
+        begin
           logger.info "* [JOB] aquiring lock on #{job.name}"
           job.lock_exclusively!(max_run_time, worker_name)
-          runtime = Benchmark.realtime do 
-            yield job.payload_object 
+          runtime =  Benchmark.realtime do
+            yield job.payload_object
             job.destroy
           end
           logger.info "* [JOB] #{job.name} completed after %.4f" % runtime
-          
-          return job                                     
+
+          return job
         rescue LockError
           # We did not get the lock, some other worker process must have
           logger.warn "* [JOB] failed to aquire exclusive lock for #{job.name}"
         rescue StandardError => e 
-          job.reschedule e.message        
-          logger.error "* [JOB] #{job.name} failed with #{e.class.name}: #{e.message} - #{job.attempts} failed attempts"
-          logger.error(e)
+          job.reschedule e.message, e.backtrace
+          log_exception(job, e)
           return job
         end
       end
@@ -118,7 +134,7 @@ def self.reserve(max_run_time = 4.hours)
     end
 
     # This method is used internally by reserve method to ensure exclusive access
-    # to the given job. It will rise a LockError if it cannot get this lock. 
+    # to the given job. It will rise a LockError if it cannot get this lock.
     def lock_exclusively!(max_run_time, worker = worker_name)
       now = self.class.db_time_now
       affected_rows = if locked_by != worker
@@ -140,12 +156,18 @@ def unlock
       self.locked_by    = nil
     end
 
+    # This is a good hook if you need to report job processing errors in additional or different ways
+    def self.log_exception(job, error)
+      logger.error "* [JOB] #{job.name} failed with #{error.class.name}: #{error.message} - #{job.attempts} failed attempts"
+      logger.error(error)
+    end
+
     def self.work_off(num = 100)
       success, failure = 0, 0
 
       num.times do
 
-        job = self.reserve do |j| 
+        job = self.reserve do |j|
           begin
             j.perform
             success += 1
@@ -173,7 +195,7 @@ def deserialize(source)
         if handler.nil?
           if source =~ ParseObjectFromYaml
 
-            # Constantize the object so that ActiveSupport can attempt 
+            # Constantize the object so that ActiveSupport can attempt
             # its auto loading magic. Will raise LoadError if not successful.
             attempt_to_load($1)
 
@@ -185,18 +207,18 @@ def deserialize(source)
 
         if handler.is_a?(YAML::Object)
 
-          # Constantize the object so that ActiveSupport can attempt 
+          # Constantize the object so that ActiveSupport can attempt
           # its auto loading magic. Will raise LoadError if not successful.
           attempt_to_load(handler.class)
 
           # If successful, retry the yaml.load
           handler = YAML.load(source)
-          return handler if handler.respond_to?(:perform)  
+          return handler if handler.respond_to?(:perform)
         end
 
         raise DeserializationError, 'Job failed to load: Unknown handler. Try to manually require the appropiate file.'
 
-      rescue TypeError, LoadError, NameError => e 
+      rescue TypeError, LoadError, NameError => e
 
         raise DeserializationError, "Job failed to load: #{e.message}. Try to manually require the required file."
       end
@@ -217,4 +239,4 @@ def before_save
     end
 
   end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end
diff --git a/spec/database.rb b/spec/database.rb
index 675c56efb..ea7fa3e35 100644
--- a/spec/database.rb
+++ b/spec/database.rb
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
     table.datetime :run_at
     table.datetime :locked_at
     table.string   :locked_by
+    table.datetime :failed_at
     table.timestamps
   end
 
@@ -34,4 +35,4 @@
 # Purely useful for test cases...
 class Story < ActiveRecord::Base
   def tell; text; end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end
diff --git a/spec/job_spec.rb b/spec/job_spec.rb
index 06897b0c7..baa37d384 100644
--- a/spec/job_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/job_spec.rb
@@ -43,14 +43,15 @@ def perform; raise 'did not work'; end
 
     SimpleJob.runs.should == 1
   end
-  
-  it "should re-schedule by about 1 second at first and increment this more and more minutes when it fails to execute properly" do            
+
+  it "should re-schedule by about 1 second at first and increment this more and more minutes when it fails to execute properly" do
     Delayed::Job.enqueue ErrorJob.new
     Delayed::Job.work_off(1)
 
     job = Delayed::Job.find(:first)
-        
-    job.last_error.should == 'did not work'
+
+    job.last_error.should =~ /did not work/
+    job.last_error.should =~ /job_spec.rb:10:in `perform'/
     job.attempts.should == 1
 
     job.run_at.should > Delayed::Job.db_time_now - 10.minutes
@@ -59,7 +60,7 @@ def perform; raise 'did not work'; end
 
   it "should raise an DeserializationError when the job class is totally unknown" do
 
-    job = Delayed::Job.new 
+    job = Delayed::Job.new
     job['handler'] = "--- !ruby/object:JobThatDoesNotExist {}"
 
     lambda { job.payload_object.perform }.should raise_error(Delayed::DeserializationError)
@@ -96,12 +97,34 @@ def perform; raise 'did not work'; end
 
     job.should_receive(:attempt_to_load).with('Delayed::JobThatDoesNotExist').and_return(true)
     lambda { job.payload_object.perform }.should raise_error(Delayed::DeserializationError)
-  end                  
+  end
+
+  it "should be failed if it failed more than MAX_ATTEMPTS times and we don't want to destroy jobs" do
+    default = Delayed::Job.destroy_failed_jobs
+    Delayed::Job.destroy_failed_jobs = false
+
+    @job = Delayed::Job.create :payload_object => SimpleJob.new, :attempts => 50
+    @job.reload.failed_at.should == nil
+    @job.reschedule 'FAIL'
+    @job.reload.failed_at.should_not == nil
+
+    Delayed::Job.destroy_failed_jobs = default
+  end
+
+  it "should be destroyed if it failed more than MAX_ATTEMPTS times and we want to destroy jobs" do
+    default = Delayed::Job.destroy_failed_jobs
+    Delayed::Job.destroy_failed_jobs = true
 
-  it "should be removed if it failed more than MAX_ATTEMPTS times" do
     @job = Delayed::Job.create :payload_object => SimpleJob.new, :attempts => 50
     @job.should_receive(:destroy)
     @job.reschedule 'FAIL'
+
+    Delayed::Job.destroy_failed_jobs = default
+  end
+
+  it "should never find failed jobs" do
+    @job = Delayed::Job.create :payload_object => SimpleJob.new, :attempts => 50, :failed_at => Time.now
+    Delayed::Job.find_available(1).length.should == 0
   end
 
   context "when another worker is already performing an task, it" do
@@ -114,7 +137,7 @@ def perform; raise 'did not work'; end
     it "should not allow a second worker to get exclusive access" do
       lambda { @job.lock_exclusively! 4.hours, 'worker2' }.should raise_error(Delayed::Job::LockError)
     end
-    
+
     it "should allow a second worker to get exclusive access if the timeout has passed" do
       lambda { @job.lock_exclusively! 1.minute, 'worker2' }.should_not raise_error(Delayed::Job::LockError)
     end      
@@ -129,7 +152,20 @@ def perform; raise 'did not work'; end
       @job.locked_at.should > 1.minute.ago
     end
 
-    it "should be able to get exclusive access again when the worker name is the same" do      
+    it "should not be found by another worker" do
+      Delayed::Job.worker_name = 'worker2'
+
+      Delayed::Job.find_available(1, 6.minutes).length.should == 0
+    end
+
+    it "should be found by another worker if the time has expired" do
+      Delayed::Job.worker_name = 'worker2'
+
+      Delayed::Job.find_available(1, 4.minutes).length.should == 1
+    end
+
+
+    it "should be able to get exclusive access again when the worker name is the same" do
       @job.lock_exclusively! 5.minutes, 'worker1'
       @job.lock_exclusively! 5.minutes, 'worker1'
       @job.lock_exclusively! 5.minutes, 'worker1'
@@ -199,16 +235,16 @@ def perform; raise 'did not work'; end
   context "while running alongside other workers with enqueued jobs, it" do 
     before(:each) do
       Delayed::Job.worker_name = 'worker1'
-      Delayed::Job.create(:payload_object => SimpleJob.new, :locked_by => 'worker1', :locked_at => 5.hours.ago)
-      Delayed::Job.create(:payload_object => SimpleJob.new, :locked_by => 'worker2', :locked_at => 3.hours.ago)  
-      Delayed::Job.create(:payload_object => SimpleJob.new, :locked_by => 'worker1', :locked_at => 2.hours.ago)
+      Delayed::Job.create(:payload_object => SimpleJob.new, :locked_by => 'worker1', :locked_at => (Delayed::Job.db_time_now - 3.minutes))
+      Delayed::Job.create(:payload_object => SimpleJob.new, :locked_by => 'worker2', :locked_at => (Delayed::Job.db_time_now - 11.minutes))  
+      Delayed::Job.create(:payload_object => SimpleJob.new, :locked_by => 'worker1', :locked_at => (Delayed::Job.db_time_now - 2.minutes))
     end
     
-    it "should remove only jobs created by the current worker" do
+    it "should only find jobs if the lock has expired reguardless of the worker" do
       SimpleJob.runs.should == 0  
-      Delayed::Job.work_off(3)
-      SimpleJob.runs.should == 2  
-      Delayed::Job.find_available.length.should == 1   
+      Delayed::Job.work_off(5)
+      SimpleJob.runs.should == 2 
+      Delayed::Job.find_available(5, 10.minutes).length.should == 1
     end
     
   end