diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b47312f..d396746 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 *.egg-info
 *.egg
 dist/*
+.tox/*
 build/*
 .DS_Store
 .watchr
diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index c29763b..540255a 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 ---
 language: python
 python:
+- '3.6'
 - '3.5'
 - '3.4'
 - '3.3'
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@ before_script:
 - sh -c "if [ '$DATABASE_URL' = 'mysql+pymysql://travis@127.0.0.1/dataset?charset=utf8' ]; then mysql -e 'create database IF NOT EXISTS dataset DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8 DEFAULT COLLATE utf8_general_ci;'; fi"
 script:
 - flake8 --ignore=E501,E123,E124,E126,E127,E128 dataset test
-- nosetests
+- nosetests -v
 cache:
   directories:
     - $HOME/.cache/pip
diff --git a/dataset/freeze/app.py b/dataset/freeze/app.py
index 396e26f..141091c 100644
--- a/dataset/freeze/app.py
+++ b/dataset/freeze/app.py
@@ -161,6 +161,7 @@ def main():  # pragma: no cover
     except FreezeException as fe:
         log.error(fe)
 
+
 if __name__ == '__main__':  # pragma: no cover
     logging.basicConfig(level=logging.DEBUG)
     main()
diff --git a/dataset/freeze/format/fjson.py b/dataset/freeze/format/fjson.py
index fd22cd3..8086ccd 100644
--- a/dataset/freeze/format/fjson.py
+++ b/dataset/freeze/format/fjson.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import json
 from datetime import datetime, date
-from collections import defaultdict
+from collections import defaultdict, OrderedDict
 from decimal import Decimal
 
 from six import PY3
@@ -29,10 +29,10 @@ class JSONSerializer(Serializer):
         if self.mode == 'item':
             result = result[0]
         if self.export.get_bool('wrap', True):
-            result = {
-                'count': len(result),
-                'results': result
-            }
+            result = OrderedDict([
+                ('count', len(result)),
+                ('results', result),
+            ])
             meta = self.export.get('meta', {})
             if meta is not None:
                 result['meta'] = meta
diff --git a/dataset/persistence/database.py b/dataset/persistence/database.py
index 080cc78..d48af22 100644
--- a/dataset/persistence/database.py
+++ b/dataset/persistence/database.py
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ class Database(object):
 
         self.lock = threading.RLock()
         self.local = threading.local()
+
         if len(parsed_url.query):
             query = parse_qs(parsed_url.query)
             if schema is None:
@@ -56,6 +57,7 @@ class Database(object):
         self._tables = {}
         self.metadata = MetaData(schema=schema)
         self.metadata.bind = self.engine
+
         if reflect_metadata:
             self.metadata.reflect(self.engine, views=reflect_views)
             for table_name in self.metadata.tables.keys():
@@ -63,39 +65,22 @@ class Database(object):
 
     @property
     def executable(self):
-        """Connection or engine against which statements will be executed."""
-        if hasattr(self.local, 'connection'):
-            return self.local.connection
-        return self.engine
+        """Connection against which statements will be executed."""
+        if not hasattr(self.local, 'conn'):
+            self.local.conn = self.engine.connect()
+        return self.local.conn
 
     @property
     def op(self):
         """Get an alembic operations context."""
-        ctx = MigrationContext.configure(self.engine)
+        ctx = MigrationContext.configure(self.executable)
         return Operations(ctx)
 
     def _acquire(self):
         self.lock.acquire()
 
     def _release(self):
-        if not hasattr(self.local, 'tx'):
-            self.lock.release()
-        else:
-            self.local.lock_count[-1] += 1
-
-    def _release_internal(self):
-        for index in range(self.local.lock_count[-1]):
-            self.lock.release()
-        del self.local.lock_count[-1]
-
-    def _dispose_transaction(self):
-        self._release_internal()
-        self.local.tx.remove(self.local.tx[-1])
-        if not self.local.tx:
-            del self.local.tx
-            del self.local.lock_count
-            self.local.connection.close()
-            del self.local.connection
+        self.lock.release()
 
     def begin(self):
         """
@@ -105,13 +90,9 @@ class Database(object):
         **NOTICE:** Schema modification operations, such as the creation
         of tables or columns will not be part of the transactional context.
         """
-        if not hasattr(self.local, 'connection'):
-            self.local.connection = self.engine.connect()
         if not hasattr(self.local, 'tx'):
             self.local.tx = []
-            self.local.lock_count = []
-        self.local.tx.append(self.local.connection.begin())
-        self.local.lock_count.append(0)
+        self.local.tx.append(self.executable.begin())
 
     def commit(self):
         """
@@ -120,8 +101,8 @@ class Database(object):
         Make all statements executed since the transaction was begun permanent.
         """
         if hasattr(self.local, 'tx') and self.local.tx:
-            self.local.tx[-1].commit()
-            self._dispose_transaction()
+            tx = self.local.tx.pop()
+            tx.commit()
 
     def rollback(self):
         """
@@ -130,8 +111,8 @@ class Database(object):
         Discard all statements executed since the transaction was begun.
         """
         if hasattr(self.local, 'tx') and self.local.tx:
-            self.local.tx[-1].rollback()
-            self._dispose_transaction()
+            tx = self.local.tx.pop()
+            tx.rollback()
 
     def __enter__(self):
         """Start a transaction."""
diff --git a/dataset/persistence/table.py b/dataset/persistence/table.py
index 4da10ba..2153b28 100644
--- a/dataset/persistence/table.py
+++ b/dataset/persistence/table.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ from hashlib import sha1
 from sqlalchemy.sql import and_, expression
 from sqlalchemy.sql.expression import ClauseElement
 from sqlalchemy.schema import Column, Index
-from sqlalchemy import alias, false
+from sqlalchemy import func, select, false
 from dataset.persistence.util import guess_type, normalize_column_name
 from dataset.persistence.util import ResultIter
 from dataset.util import DatasetException
@@ -249,7 +249,7 @@ class Table(object):
         If no arguments are given, all records are deleted.
         """
         self._check_dropped()
-        if _filter:
+        if _filter or _clauses:
             q = self._args_to_clause(_filter, clauses=_clauses)
             stmt = self.table.delete(q)
         else:
@@ -298,15 +298,17 @@ class Table(object):
         """
         self._check_dropped()
         self.database._acquire()
-
         try:
-            if normalize_column_name(name) not in self._normalized_columns:
-                self.database.op.add_column(
-                    self.table.name,
-                    Column(name, type),
-                    self.table.schema
-                )
-                self.table = self.database.update_table(self.table.name)
+            if normalize_column_name(name) in self._normalized_columns:
+                log.warn("Column with similar name exists: %s" % name)
+                return
+
+            self.database.op.add_column(
+                self.table.name,
+                Column(name, type),
+                self.table.schema
+            )
+            self.table = self.database.update_table(self.table.name)
         finally:
             self.database._release()
 
@@ -399,10 +401,20 @@ class Table(object):
             return None
 
     def _args_to_order_by(self, order_by):
-        if order_by[0] == '-':
-            return self.table.c[order_by[1:]].desc()
-        else:
-            return self.table.c[order_by].asc()
+        if not isinstance(order_by, (list, tuple)):
+            order_by = [order_by]
+        orderings = []
+        for ordering in order_by:
+            if ordering is None:
+                continue
+            column = ordering.lstrip('-')
+            if column not in self.table.columns:
+                continue
+            if ordering.startswith('-'):
+                orderings.append(self.table.c[column].desc())
+            else:
+                orderings.append(self.table.c[column].asc())
+        return orderings
 
     def find(self, *_clauses, **kwargs):
         """
@@ -433,43 +445,33 @@ class Table(object):
         _limit = kwargs.pop('_limit', None)
         _offset = kwargs.pop('_offset', 0)
         _step = kwargs.pop('_step', 5000)
-        order_by = kwargs.pop('order_by', 'id')
-        return_count = kwargs.pop('return_count', False)
-        return_query = kwargs.pop('return_query', False)
-        _filter = kwargs
+        order_by = kwargs.pop('order_by', None)
 
         self._check_dropped()
-        if not isinstance(order_by, (list, tuple)):
-            order_by = [order_by]
-        order_by = [o for o in order_by if (o.startswith('-') and o[1:] or o) in self.table.columns]
-        order_by = [self._args_to_order_by(o) for o in order_by]
+        order_by = self._args_to_order_by(order_by)
+        args = self._args_to_clause(kwargs, ensure=False, clauses=_clauses)
 
-        args = self._args_to_clause(_filter, ensure=False, clauses=_clauses)
-
-        # query total number of rows first
-        count_query = alias(self.table.select(whereclause=args, limit=_limit, offset=_offset),
-                            name='count_query_alias').count()
-        rp = self.database.executable.execute(count_query)
-        total_row_count = rp.fetchone()[0]
-        if return_count:
-            return total_row_count
-
-        if _limit is None:
-            _limit = total_row_count
-
-        if _step is None or _step is False or _step == 0:
-            _step = total_row_count
+        if _step is False or _step == 0:
+            _step = None
 
         query = self.table.select(whereclause=args, limit=_limit,
-                                  offset=_offset, order_by=order_by)
-        if return_query:
-            return query
+                                  offset=_offset)
+        if len(order_by):
+            query = query.order_by(*order_by)
         return ResultIter(self.database.executable.execute(query),
                           row_type=self.database.row_type, step=_step)
 
-    def count(self, *args, **kwargs):
+    def count(self, *_clauses, **kwargs):
         """Return the count of results for the given filter set."""
-        return self.find(*args, return_count=True, **kwargs)
+        # NOTE: this does not have support for limit and offset since I can't
+        # see how this is useful. Still, there might be compatibility issues
+        # with people using these flags. Let's see how it goes.
+        self._check_dropped()
+        args = self._args_to_clause(kwargs, ensure=False, clauses=_clauses)
+        query = select([func.count()], whereclause=args)
+        query = query.select_from(self.table)
+        rp = self.database.executable.execute(query)
+        return rp.fetchone()[0]
 
     def __len__(self):
         """Return the number of rows in the table."""
diff --git a/dataset/persistence/util.py b/dataset/persistence/util.py
index 8f616b6..8c1b380 100644
--- a/dataset/persistence/util.py
+++ b/dataset/persistence/util.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-from datetime import datetime
+from datetime import datetime, date
 try:
     from urlparse import urlparse
 except ImportError:
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ try:
 except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover
     from ordereddict import OrderedDict
 
-from sqlalchemy import Integer, UnicodeText, Float, DateTime, Boolean
+from sqlalchemy import Integer, UnicodeText, Float, Date, DateTime, Boolean
 from six import string_types
 
 row_type = OrderedDict
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ def guess_type(sample):
         return Float
     elif isinstance(sample, datetime):
         return DateTime
+    elif isinstance(sample, date):
+        return Date
     return UnicodeText
 
 
@@ -42,39 +44,30 @@ def normalize_column_name(name):
     return name
 
 
+def iter_result_proxy(rp, step=None):
+    """Iterate over the ResultProxy."""
+    while True:
+        if step is None:
+            chunk = rp.fetchall()
+        else:
+            chunk = rp.fetchmany(step)
+        if not chunk:
+            break
+        for row in chunk:
+            yield row
+
+
 class ResultIter(object):
     """ SQLAlchemy ResultProxies are not iterable to get a
     list of dictionaries. This is to wrap them. """
 
     def __init__(self, result_proxy, row_type=row_type, step=None):
-        self.result_proxy = result_proxy
         self.row_type = row_type
-        self.step = step
         self.keys = list(result_proxy.keys())
-        self._iter = None
-
-    def _next_chunk(self):
-        if self.result_proxy.closed:
-            return False
-        if not self.step:
-            chunk = self.result_proxy.fetchall()
-        else:
-            chunk = self.result_proxy.fetchmany(self.step)
-        if chunk:
-            self._iter = iter(chunk)
-            return True
-        else:
-            return False
+        self._iter = iter_result_proxy(result_proxy, step=step)
 
     def __next__(self):
-        if self._iter is None:
-            if not self._next_chunk():
-                raise StopIteration
-        try:
-            return convert_row(self.row_type, next(self._iter))
-        except StopIteration:
-            self._iter = None
-            return self.__next__()
+        return convert_row(self.row_type, next(self._iter))
 
     next = __next__
 
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index f1c4664..137314c 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ if sys.version_info[:2] <= (2, 6):
 
 setup(
     name='dataset',
-    version='0.7.0',
+    version='0.8.0',
     description="Toolkit for Python-based data processing.",
     long_description="",
     classifiers=[
@@ -16,15 +16,14 @@ setup(
         "Intended Audience :: Developers",
         "License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License",
         "Operating System :: OS Independent",
-        'Programming Language :: Python :: 2.6',
         'Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7',
-        'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.3'
-        'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.4'
+        'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.3',
+        'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.4',
         'Programming Language :: Python :: 3.5'
     ],
     keywords='sql sqlalchemy etl loading utility',
     author='Friedrich Lindenberg, Gregor Aisch, Stefan Wehrmeyer',
-    author_email='info@okfn.org',
+    author_email='friedrich@pudo.org',
     url='http://github.com/pudo/dataset',
     license='MIT',
     packages=find_packages(exclude=['ez_setup', 'examples', 'test']),
@@ -34,7 +33,7 @@ setup(
     install_requires=[
         'sqlalchemy >= 0.9.1',
         'alembic >= 0.6.2',
-        'normality >= 0.2.2',
+        'normality >= 0.3.9',
         "PyYAML >= 3.10",
         "six >= 1.7.3"
     ] + py26_dependency,
diff --git a/test/test_persistence.py b/test/test_persistence.py
index 11131d9..1e6ab92 100644
--- a/test/test_persistence.py
+++ b/test/test_persistence.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover
     from ordereddict import OrderedDict  # Python < 2.7 drop-in
 
 from sqlalchemy import FLOAT, INTEGER, TEXT
-from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError, SQLAlchemyError
+from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError, SQLAlchemyError, ArgumentError
 
 from dataset import connect
 from dataset.util import DatasetException
@@ -252,7 +252,13 @@ class TableTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
             'temperature': -10,
             'place': 'Berlin'}
         )
+        original_count = len(self.tbl)
         assert len(self.tbl) == len(TEST_DATA) + 1, len(self.tbl)
+        # Test bad use of API
+        with self.assertRaises(ArgumentError):
+            self.tbl.delete({'place': 'Berlin'})
+        assert len(self.tbl) == original_count, len(self.tbl)
+
         assert self.tbl.delete(place='Berlin') is True, 'should return 1'
         assert len(self.tbl) == len(TEST_DATA), len(self.tbl)
         assert self.tbl.delete() is True, 'should return non zero'