diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 92c2814..7567f24 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -27,10 +27,10 @@ By default Von will only bump a "total" counter for the given key. This is great
 ```ruby
 Von.configure do |config|
     # Keep daily stats for 30 days
-    config.counter 'downloads', :daily => 30
+    config.counter 'downloads', daily: 30
 
     # Keep monthly stats for 3 months and yearly stats for 2 years
-    config.counter 'uploads', :monthly => 3, :yearly => 2
+    config.counter 'uploads', monthly: 3, yearly: 2
 end
 ```
 
@@ -41,10 +41,10 @@ If just wanna track stats on the current minute/hour/day/week/etc, you can set t
 ```ruby
 Von.configure do |config|
     # Track downloads stats for the current hour
-    config.counter 'downloads', :current => :hour
+    config.counter 'downloads', current: :hour
 
     # Track page views for the current day and week
-    config.counter 'page-views', :current => [ :day, :week ]
+    config.counter 'page-views', current: [ :day, :week ]
 end
 ```
 
@@ -55,10 +55,10 @@ Time periods are pretty cool, but sometimes you wanna know when you did your bes
 ```ruby
 Von.configure do |config|
     # Track the best day for downloads
-    config.counter 'downloads', :best => :day
+    config.counter 'downloads', best: :day
 
     # Track the best hour and week for page views
-    config.counter 'page-views', :best => [ :hour, :week ]
+    config.counter 'page-views', best: [ :hour, :week ]
 end
 ```
 
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ Von.increment('page-views')
 Von.count('downloads').total       #=> 4
 
 # get the monthly counts (returns an Array of Hashes)
-Von.count('uploads').per(:month)   #=> [ { :timestamp => '2012-03', :count => 3 }, { :timestamp => '2013-04', :count => 1 }, { :timestamp => '2013-05', :count => 0 }]
+Von.count('uploads').per(:month)   #=> [ { timestamp: '2012-03', count: 3 }, { timestamp: '2013-04', count: 1 }, { timestamp: '2013-05', count: 0 }]
 
 # get the download stats for the hour
 Von.count('downloads').this(:hour)          #=> 10
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ Von.count('page-views').today               #=> 78
 Von.count('page-views').current(:day)       #=> 78
 
 # get the best day for downloads (returns a Hash)
-Von.count('downloads').best(:day)  #=> { :timestamp => '2012-03-01', :count => 10 }
+Von.count('downloads').best(:day)  #=> { timestamp: '2012-03-01', count: 10 }
 ```
 
 One nice thing to note, if you're counting a time period and there wasn't a value stored for the particular hour/day/week/etc, it'll be populated with a zero, this ensures that if you want 30 days of stats, you get 30 days of stats.
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ Von.configure do |config|
     # set the Redis connection to an already existing connection
     config.redis = Redis.current
     # Initialize a new Redis connection given options
-    config.redis = { :host => 'localhost', :port => 6379 }
+    config.redis = { host: 'localhost', port: 6379 }
     
     # rescue Redis connection errors
     # if the connection fails, no errors are raised by default
diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index 6c6d0a1..104619d 100755
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -7,4 +7,4 @@ Rake::TestTask.new do |t|
     t.test_files = FileList['test/**/*_test.rb']
 end
 
-task :default => :test
\ No newline at end of file
+task default: :test
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/von/counter.rb b/lib/von/counter.rb
index 17f0a10..ac4f36d 100644
--- a/lib/von/counter.rb
+++ b/lib/von/counter.rb
@@ -26,10 +26,10 @@ def total
     def per(unit)
       periods = Von.config.periods[@field]
 
-      if !Period.time_unit_exists?(unit)
-        raise ArgumentError, "`#{unit}' is an unknown time unit"
-      else
+      if Period.time_unit_exists?(unit)
         Counters::Period.new(@field, periods).count(unit)
+      else
+        raise ArgumentError, "`#{unit}' is an unknown time unit"
       end
     rescue Redis::BaseError => e
       raise e if Von.config.raise_connection_errors
@@ -38,10 +38,10 @@ def per(unit)
     def best(unit)
       periods = Von.config.bests[@field]
 
-      if !Period.time_unit_exists?(unit)
-        raise ArgumentError, "`#{unit}' is an unknown time unit"
-      else
+      if Period.time_unit_exists?(unit)
         Counters::Best.new(@field, periods).count(unit)
+      else
+        raise ArgumentError, "`#{unit}' is an unknown time unit"
       end
     rescue Redis::BaseError => e
       raise e if Von.config.raise_connection_errors
@@ -50,10 +50,10 @@ def best(unit)
     def this(unit)
       periods = Von.config.currents[@field]
 
-      if !Period.time_unit_exists?(unit)
-        raise ArgumentError, "`#{unit}' is an unknown time unit"
-      else
+      if Period.time_unit_exists?(unit)
         Counters::Current.new(@field, periods).count(unit)
+      else
+        raise ArgumentError, "`#{unit}' is an unknown time unit"
       end
     rescue Redis::BaseError => e
       raise e if Von.config.raise_connection_errors
diff --git a/lib/von/counters/best.rb b/lib/von/counters/best.rb
index e319cc7..99a52d5 100644
--- a/lib/von/counters/best.rb
+++ b/lib/von/counters/best.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 module Von
   module Counters
     class Best
-      include Von::Counters::Commands
+      include Commands
 
       def initialize(field, periods = nil)
         @field   = field.to_sym
@@ -57,9 +57,9 @@ def count(time_unit)
         _best_total        = best_total(time_unit)
 
         if _current_total > _best_total
-          { :timestamp => _current_timestamp, :count => _current_total }
+          { timestamp: _current_timestamp, count: _current_total }
         else
-          { :timestamp => _best_timestamp, :count => _best_total }
+          { timestamp: _best_timestamp, count: _best_total }
         end
       end
 
diff --git a/lib/von/counters/current.rb b/lib/von/counters/current.rb
index 53c8f9e..b1ea8fb 100644
--- a/lib/von/counters/current.rb
+++ b/lib/von/counters/current.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 module Von
   module Counters
     class Current
-      include Von::Counters::Commands
+      include Commands
 
       # Initialize a new Counter
       #
diff --git a/lib/von/counters/period.rb b/lib/von/counters/period.rb
index c5ab4ad..1aa222f 100644
--- a/lib/von/counters/period.rb
+++ b/lib/von/counters/period.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 module Von
   module Counters
     class Period
-      include Von::Counters::Commands
+      include Commands
 
       def initialize(field, periods = nil)
         @field   = field.to_sym
@@ -44,9 +44,8 @@ def increment
       def count(time_unit)
         return if @periods.empty?
 
-        counts     = []
-        this_period = nil
-        _period     = @periods.select { |p| p.time_unit == time_unit }.first
+        counts  = []
+        _period = @periods.select { |p| p.time_unit == time_unit }.first
 
         _period.length.times do |i|
           this_period = _period.prev(i)
@@ -54,7 +53,7 @@ def count(time_unit)
         end
 
         keys = hgetall(hash_key(time_unit))
-        counts.map { |date| { :timestamp => date, :count => keys.fetch(date, 0).to_i }}
+        counts.map { |date| { timestamp: date, count: keys.fetch(date, 0).to_i }}
       end
 
     end
diff --git a/lib/von/counters/total.rb b/lib/von/counters/total.rb
index 2606e8d..9d250ca 100644
--- a/lib/von/counters/total.rb
+++ b/lib/von/counters/total.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 module Von
   module Counters
     class Total
-      include Von::Counters::Commands
+      include Commands
+
       attr_reader :field
 
       # Initialize a new Counter
diff --git a/lib/von/period.rb b/lib/von/period.rb
index 9d3518b..a6fecbf 100644
--- a/lib/von/period.rb
+++ b/lib/von/period.rb
@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 module Von
   class Period
     PERIOD_MAPPING = {
-      :minutely => :minute,
-      :hourly   => :hour,
-      :daily    => :day,
-      :weekly   => :week,
-      :monthly  => :month,
-      :yearly   => :year
+      minutely: :minute,
+      hourly: :hour,
+      daily: :day,
+      weekly: :week,
+      monthly: :month,
+      yearly: :year
     }
+
     AVAILABLE_PERIODS    = PERIOD_MAPPING.keys
     AVAILABLE_TIME_UNITS = PERIOD_MAPPING.values
 
@@ -50,7 +51,7 @@ def minutes?
 
     def beginning(time)
       if minutes?
-        time.change(:seconds => 0)
+        time.change(seconds: 0)
       else
         time.send(:"beginning_of_#{time_unit}")
       end
diff --git a/test/config_test.rb b/test/config_test.rb
index 3e45a5d..a9036e9 100644
--- a/test/config_test.rb
+++ b/test/config_test.rb
@@ -14,13 +14,12 @@
 
   it 'initializes a config and overloads it with a block' do
     @config.namespace = 'something'
-
     @config.namespace.must_equal 'something'
   end
 
   it "sets periods via counter method" do
     Von.configure do |config|
-      config.counter 'bar', :monthly => 3, :daily => 6
+      config.counter 'bar', monthly: 3, daily: 6
     end
 
     Von.config.periods[:bar].length.must_equal 2
@@ -32,8 +31,8 @@
 
   it "sets bests via counter method" do
     Von.configure do |config|
-      config.counter 'bar', :best => :day
-      config.counter 'foo', :best => [ :month, :year ]
+      config.counter 'bar', best: :day
+      config.counter 'foo', best: [:month, :year]
     end
 
     Von.config.bests[:bar].first.must_be_instance_of Von::Period
@@ -46,8 +45,8 @@
 
   it "sets currents via counter method" do
     Von.configure do |config|
-      config.counter 'bar', :current => :day
-      config.counter 'foo', :current => [ :month, :year ]
+      config.counter 'bar', current: :day
+      config.counter 'foo', current: [:month, :year]
     end
 
     Von.config.currents[:bar].first.must_be_instance_of Von::Period
diff --git a/test/counter_test.rb b/test/counter_test.rb
index 066e284..b3bbece 100644
--- a/test/counter_test.rb
+++ b/test/counter_test.rb
@@ -21,10 +21,9 @@
     Counter.new('foo:bar').total.must_equal 3
   end
 
-
   it "returns counts for a given period" do
     Von.configure do |config|
-      config.counter 'foo', :monthly => 2
+      config.counter 'foo', monthly: 2
     end
 
     Von.increment('foo')
@@ -33,12 +32,12 @@
     Timecop.freeze(Time.local(2013, 03))
     Von.increment('foo')
 
-    Counter.new('foo').per(:month).must_equal [{:timestamp => "2013-02", :count => 1}, {:timestamp => "2013-03", :count => 1}]
+    Counter.new('foo').per(:month).must_equal [{ timestamp: "2013-02", count: 1 }, { timestamp: "2013-03", count: 1 }]
   end
 
   it "returns best count for a given period" do
     Von.configure do |config|
-      config.counter 'foo', :best => [:minute, :week]
+      config.counter 'foo', best: [:minute, :week]
     end
 
     Von.increment('foo')
@@ -48,13 +47,13 @@
     Timecop.freeze(Time.local(2013, 01, 20, 06, 10))
     3.times { Von.increment('foo') }
 
-    Counter.new('foo').best(:minute).must_equal({:timestamp => "2013-01-13 06:05", :count => 4})
-    Counter.new('foo').best(:week).must_equal({:timestamp => "2013-01-07", :count => 4})
+    Counter.new('foo').best(:minute).must_equal({ timestamp: "2013-01-13 06:05", count: 4 })
+    Counter.new('foo').best(:week).must_equal({ timestamp: "2013-01-07", count: 4 })
   end
 
   it "returns current count for a given period" do
     Von.configure do |config|
-      config.counter 'foo', :current => [:minute, :day]
+      config.counter 'foo', current: [:minute, :day]
     end
 
     4.times { Von.increment('foo') }
diff --git a/test/counters/period_test.rb b/test/counters/period_test.rb
index 2ef7e77..4466c65 100644
--- a/test/counters/period_test.rb
+++ b/test/counters/period_test.rb
@@ -64,14 +64,14 @@
     Timecop.freeze(Time.local(2013, 02, 01, 9))
     counter.increment
 
-    counter.count(:month).must_equal [{:timestamp => "2013-02", :count => 2}]
+    counter.count(:month).must_equal [{ timestamp: "2013-02", count: 2 }]
     counter.count(:hour).must_equal [
-      { :timestamp => "2013-02-01 04:00", :count => 0 },
-      { :timestamp => "2013-02-01 05:00", :count => 0 },
-      { :timestamp => "2013-02-01 06:00", :count => 0 },
-      { :timestamp => "2013-02-01 07:00", :count => 1 },
-      { :timestamp => "2013-02-01 08:00", :count => 0 },
-      { :timestamp => "2013-02-01 09:00", :count => 1 }
+      { timestamp: "2013-02-01 04:00", count: 0 },
+      { timestamp: "2013-02-01 05:00", count: 0 },
+      { timestamp: "2013-02-01 06:00", count: 0 },
+      { timestamp: "2013-02-01 07:00", count: 1 },
+      { timestamp: "2013-02-01 08:00", count: 0 },
+      { timestamp: "2013-02-01 09:00", count: 1 }
     ]
   end
 
diff --git a/test/von_test.rb b/test/von_test.rb
index f2cd28a..3a24100 100644
--- a/test/von_test.rb
+++ b/test/von_test.rb
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 
   it "increments period/best counters and counts them" do
     Von.configure do |config|
-      config.counter 'foo', :monthly => 2, :best => :day
+      config.counter 'foo', monthly: 2, best: :day
     end
 
     Von.increment('foo')
@@ -32,8 +32,8 @@
     Timecop.freeze(Time.local(2013, 03, 04))
     Von.increment('foo')
 
-    Von.count('foo').best(:day).must_equal({:timestamp => "2013-02-03", :count => 2})
-    Von.count('foo').per(:month).must_equal [{:timestamp => "2013-02", :count => 2}, {:timestamp => "2013-03", :count => 1}]
+    Von.count('foo').best(:day).must_equal({ timestamp: "2013-02-03", count: 2 })
+    Von.count('foo').per(:month).must_equal [{ timestamp: "2013-02", count: 2 }, { timestamp: "2013-03", count: 1 }]
   end
 
   it "raises a Redis connection errors if raise_connection_errors is true" do