diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index ce2ec776e..7b665e495 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -1,36 +1,36 @@
-sudo: False
+sudo: required
 
-language: python
+language: generic
 
 matrix:
   fast_finish: true
   include:
     - python: 2.7
       env:
-    - python: 3.4
-      env:
     - python: 3.5
       env:
+    - python: 3.6
+      env:
     - python: 2.7
       env: PANDAS_VERSION="git+https://github.com/pydata/pandas"
-    - python: 3.4
-      env: PANDAS_VERSION="git+https://github.com/pydata/pandas"
     - python: 3.5
       env: PANDAS_VERSION="git+https://github.com/pydata/pandas"
+    - python: 3.6
+      env: PANDAS_VERSION="git+https://github.com/pydata/pandas"
   allow_failures:
     - python: 2.7
       env: PANDAS_VERSION="git+https://github.com/pydata/pandas"
-    - python: 3.4
-      env: PANDAS_VERSION="git+https://github.com/pydata/pandas"
     - python: 3.5
       env: PANDAS_VERSION="git+https://github.com/pydata/pandas"
+    - python: 3.6
+      env: PANDAS_VERSION="git+https://github.com/pydata/pandas"
 
 addons:
-  postgresql: "9.3"
+  postgresql: "9.5"
 
 services:
-    - mongodb
-    - mysql
+  - mongodb
+  - mysql
 
 install:
   # Install conda
@@ -40,6 +40,24 @@ install:
   - conda config --set always_yes yes --set changeps1 no
   - conda update conda
 
+  # Install dependencies
+  # Use conda **ONLY** for numpy and pandas (if not pulling from master), this
+  # speeds up the builds a lot. Use the normal pip install for the rest.
+  - conda create -n odo numpy=1.11.2
+  - source activate odo
+  # update setuptools and pip
+  - conda update setuptools pip
+  - if [ -n "$PANDAS_VERSION" ]; then pip install cython==0.27.3; pip install $PANDAS_VERSION; else conda install pandas=0.22.0; fi
+
+  # install the frozen ci dependencies
+  - pip install -e .[ci]
+
+  # datashape
+  - pip install git+git://github.com/blaze/datashape.git
+
+  # redshift sqlalchemy dialect
+  - pip install --upgrade git+git://github.com/graingert/redshift_sqlalchemy
+ 
   # install python stuff
   - source etc/ci-install.sh
 
diff --git a/conda.recipe/meta.yaml b/conda.recipe/meta.yaml
index 069a2e86d..44a4941af 100644
--- a/conda.recipe/meta.yaml
+++ b/conda.recipe/meta.yaml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ build:
   {% else %}string: py{{ environ.get('PY_VER').replace('.', '') }}_{{ environ.get('GIT_BUILD_STR', 'GIT_STUB') }}{% endif %}
 
 source:
-  git_url: ../
+  path: ../
 
 requirements:
   build:
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ requirements:
     - pandas >=0.15.0
     - toolz >=0.7.3
     - multipledispatch >=0.4.7
-    - networkx
+    - networkx >1.0,<2.0
     - dask >=0.11.1
 
   run:
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ requirements:
     - pandas >=0.15.0
     - toolz >=0.7.3
     - multipledispatch >=0.4.7
-    - networkx
+    - networkx >1.0,<2.0
     - dask >=0.11.1
 
 test:
@@ -38,8 +38,8 @@ test:
     - pytables >=3.0.0
     - sqlalchemy >=0.8.0
     - bcolz
+    - pymongo # [not (py35 or win)]
     - mock
-    - pymongo >=2.8,<3 # [not (py35 or win)]
     - dask
     - paramiko # [not win]
     - sqlite3 # [win]
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ test:
     - psycopg2 # [unix]
 
   commands:
-    - pip install sas7bdat && py.test -vx --pyargs odo -rsxX
+    - pip install sas7bdat && py.test -v --pyargs odo -rsxX
 
 about:
   home: https://github.com/blaze/odo/
diff --git a/etc/ci-install.sh b/etc/ci-install.sh
index c53abc391..51502699e 100644
--- a/etc/ci-install.sh
+++ b/etc/ci-install.sh
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ if [ -n "$PANDAS_VERSION" ];then
     pip install cython==0.24.1
     pip install $PANDAS_VERSION
 else
-    conda install pandas=0.19.0
+    conda install pandas=0.22.1
 fi
 
 conda install pytables=3.3.0
diff --git a/etc/requirements_ci.txt b/etc/requirements_ci.txt
index 1371bb72c..c37979531 100644
--- a/etc/requirements_ci.txt
+++ b/etc/requirements_ci.txt
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ cffi==1.8.3
 click==6.6
 cloudpickle==0.2.1
 cryptography==1.5.2
-dask==0.11.1
+dask==0.16.1
 decorator==4.0.10
 distributed==1.13.3
 docutils==0.12
@@ -27,12 +27,12 @@ pandas==0.19.0  # # please update the .travis file!
 paramiko==2.0.2
 partd==0.3.6
 psutil==4.4.2
-psycopg2==2.6.2
+psycopg2==2.7.4
 py==1.4.34
 pyasn1==0.1.9
 pycparser==2.17
 pymongo==2.9.4
-PyMySQL==0.7.9
+PyMySQL==0.7.11
 pytest==3.2.3
 python-dateutil==2.5.3
 pytz==2016.7
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ s3fs==0.0.7
 s3transfer==0.1.9
 sas7bdat==2.0.7
 six==1.10.0
-SQLAlchemy==1.1.3
+SQLAlchemy==1.2.1
 tables==3.3.0
 tblib==1.3.0
 toolz==0.8.0
diff --git a/odo/backends/pandas.py b/odo/backends/pandas.py
index 493e54689..f3476f2bf 100644
--- a/odo/backends/pandas.py
+++ b/odo/backends/pandas.py
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 
 
 def dshape_from_pandas(col):
-    if isinstance(col.dtype, categorical):
+    if col.dtype.name == 'category':
         return Categorical(col.cat.categories.tolist())
     elif col.dtype.kind == 'M':
         tz = getattr(col.dtype, 'tz', None)
diff --git a/odo/backends/tests/test_bokeh.py b/odo/backends/tests/test_bokeh.py
index fa8c71865..2777be9e5 100644
--- a/odo/backends/tests/test_bokeh.py
+++ b/odo/backends/tests/test_bokeh.py
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 bokeh = pytest.importorskip('bokeh')
 
 from odo.backends.bokeh import convert, pd, ColumnDataSource
+import numpy as np
+import numpy.testing as nt
 import pandas.util.testing as tm
 
 
diff --git a/odo/backends/tests/test_dask_array.py b/odo/backends/tests/test_dask_array.py
index c16808b73..dc622e4c9 100644
--- a/odo/backends/tests/test_dask_array.py
+++ b/odo/backends/tests/test_dask_array.py
@@ -59,14 +59,14 @@ def test_into_inplace():
 
 
 def test_insert_to_ooc():
-    x = np.arange(600).reshape((20, 30))
-    y = np.empty(shape=x.shape, dtype=x.dtype)
-    a = convert(Array, x, chunks=(4, 5))
+    in_arr = np.arange(600).reshape((20, 30))
+    out_arr = np.empty(shape=in_arr.shape, dtype=in_arr.dtype)
+    d_arr = convert(Array, in_arr, chunks=(4, 5))
 
-    dsk = insert_to_ooc(y, a)
-    core.get(merge(dsk, a.dask), list(dsk.keys()))
+    dsk = insert_to_ooc(d_arr, out_arr)
+    core.get(merge(dsk, d_arr.dask), list(dsk.keys()))
 
-    assert eq(y, x)
+    assert eq(out_arr, in_arr)
 
 
 def test_array_interface():
diff --git a/odo/backends/tests/test_dask_dataframe.py b/odo/backends/tests/test_dask_dataframe.py
index 3c2daf93b..80a2b6fb2 100644
--- a/odo/backends/tests/test_dask_dataframe.py
+++ b/odo/backends/tests/test_dask_dataframe.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ def test_discover():
     ddf = dd.from_pandas(df, npartitions=2)
     assert_dshape_equal(discover(ddf),
                         var * Record([('x', Categorical(['a', 'b', 'c'])),
-                                            ('y', int64), ('z', float64)]))
+                                      ('y', int64), ('z', float64)]))
     assert_dshape_equal(discover(ddf.x), var * Categorical(['a', 'b', 'c']))
 
 
diff --git a/odo/backends/tests/test_mysql.py b/odo/backends/tests/test_mysql.py
index 14860cacd..5c716c18e 100644
--- a/odo/backends/tests/test_mysql.py
+++ b/odo/backends/tests/test_mysql.py
@@ -1,23 +1,25 @@
 from __future__ import absolute_import, division, print_function
 
-import pytest
-
-pymysql = pytest.importorskip('pymysql')
-
-from datashape import var, DataShape, Record, dshape
+import csv as csv_module
+import getpass
 import itertools
-from odo.backends.csv import CSV
-from odo import resource, odo
-import sqlalchemy
-import sqlalchemy as sa
 import os
 import sys
-import csv as csv_module
-import getpass
-from odo import drop, discover
+
+import pytest
+import sqlalchemy
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from datashape import var, Record, dshape
+
+from odo import resource, odo, drop, discover
+from odo.backends.csv import CSV
 from odo.utils import tmpfile
 
 
+pymysql = pytest.importorskip('pymysql')
+
+
+
 pytestmark = pytest.mark.skipif(sys.platform == 'win32',
                                 reason='not well tested on win32 mysql')
 
@@ -232,7 +234,7 @@ def test_different_encoding(name):
         sql = odo(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), 'encoding.csv'),
                   url + '::%s' % name,
                   encoding=encoding)
-    except sa.exc.OperationalError as e:
+    except (sa.exc.OperationalError, pymysql.err.InternalError) as e:
         pytest.skip(str(e))
     else:
         try:
diff --git a/odo/tests/test_convert.py b/odo/tests/test_convert.py
index d75857d34..ac7e28346 100644
--- a/odo/tests/test_convert.py
+++ b/odo/tests/test_convert.py
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ def test_numpy_launders_python_types():
 
 def test_numpy_asserts_type_after_dataframe():
     df = pd.DataFrame({'name': ['Alice'], 'amount': [100]})
-    ds = datashape.dshape('1 * {name: string[10, "ascii"], amount: int32}')
+    ds = datashape.dshape('1 * {amount: int32, name: string[10, "ascii"]}')
     x = convert(np.ndarray, df, dshape=ds)
     assert discover(x) == ds