diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 287430d4e5..51b42bf7be 100755
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ project/boot/*
 lib_managed
 etags
 TAGS
+akka.tmproj
 reports
 dist
 build
diff --git a/akka-core/src/main/scala/actor/ActorRef.scala b/akka-core/src/main/scala/actor/ActorRef.scala
index 0d70643dc8..9db90a6e78 100644
--- a/akka-core/src/main/scala/actor/ActorRef.scala
+++ b/akka-core/src/main/scala/actor/ActorRef.scala
@@ -773,7 +773,7 @@ sealed class LocalActorRef private[akka](
         address.getHostName, address.getPort, uuid))
       RemoteNode.unregister(this)
       nullOutActorRefReferencesFor(actorInstance.get)
-    } else if (isBeingRestarted) throw new ActorKilledException("Actor [" + toString + "] is being restarted.")
+    } //else if (isBeingRestarted) throw new ActorKilledException("Actor [" + toString + "] is being restarted.")
   }
 
   /**
@@ -961,7 +961,7 @@ sealed class LocalActorRef private[akka](
    * Callback for the dispatcher. This is the ingle entry point to the user Actor implementation.
    */
   protected[akka] def invoke(messageHandle: MessageInvocation): Unit = guard.withGuard {
-    if (isShutdown) Actor.log.warning("Actor [%s] is shut down, ignoring message [%s]", toString, messageHandle)
+    if (isShutdown) Actor.log.warning("Actor [%s] is shut down,\n\tignoring message [%s]", toString, messageHandle)
     else {
       currentMessage = Option(messageHandle)
       try {
@@ -986,29 +986,34 @@ sealed class LocalActorRef private[akka](
         case Some(OneForOneStrategy(maxNrOfRetries, withinTimeRange)) =>
           dead.restart(reason, maxNrOfRetries, withinTimeRange)
 
-        case None =>
-            throw new IllegalActorStateException(
-              "No 'faultHandler' defined for an actor with the 'trapExit' member field defined " +
-              "\n\tto non-empty list of exception classes - can't proceed " + toString)
+        case None => throw new IllegalActorStateException(
+          "No 'faultHandler' defined for an actor with the 'trapExit' member field defined " +
+          "\n\tto non-empty list of exception classes - can't proceed " + toString)
       }
     } else {
       if (lifeCycle.isEmpty) lifeCycle = Some(LifeCycle(Permanent)) // when passing on make sure we have a lifecycle
-      _supervisor.foreach(_ ! Exit(this, reason)) // if 'trapExit' is not defined then pass the Exit on
+      notifySupervisorWithMessage(Exit(this, reason)) // if 'trapExit' is not defined then pass the Exit on
     }
   }
 
   protected[akka] def restart(reason: Throwable, maxNrOfRetries: Int, withinTimeRange: Int): Unit = {
-    if (maxNrOfRetriesCount == 0) restartsWithinTimeRangeTimestamp = System.currentTimeMillis
+    if (maxNrOfRetriesCount == 0) restartsWithinTimeRangeTimestamp = System.currentTimeMillis // first time around
     maxNrOfRetriesCount += 1
-    if (maxNrOfRetriesCount > maxNrOfRetries || (System.currentTimeMillis - restartsWithinTimeRangeTimestamp) > withinTimeRange) {
-      val message = MaximumNumberOfRestartsWithinTimeRangeReached(this, maxNrOfRetries, withinTimeRange, reason)
+    
+    val tooManyRestarts = maxNrOfRetriesCount > maxNrOfRetries
+    val restartingHasExpired = (System.currentTimeMillis - restartsWithinTimeRangeTimestamp) > withinTimeRange
+    
+    if (tooManyRestarts || restartingHasExpired) {
+      val notification = MaximumNumberOfRestartsWithinTimeRangeReached(this, maxNrOfRetries, withinTimeRange, reason)
       Actor.log.warning(
         "Maximum number of restarts [%s] within time range [%s] reached." + 
         "\n\tWill *not* restart actor [%s] anymore." + 
-        "\n\tLast exception causing restart was [%s].", 
+        "\n\tLast exception causing restart was" + 
+        "\n\t[%s].", 
         maxNrOfRetries, withinTimeRange, this, reason)
       _supervisor.foreach { sup => 
-        if (sup.isDefinedAt(message)) sup ! message
+        // can supervisor handle the notification?
+        if (sup.isDefinedAt(notification)) notifySupervisorWithMessage(notification) 
         else Actor.log.warning(
           "No message handler defined for system message [MaximumNumberOfRestartsWithinTimeRangeReached]" +
           "\n\tCan't send the message to the supervisor [%s].", sup)
@@ -1016,7 +1021,6 @@ sealed class LocalActorRef private[akka](
     } else {    
       _isBeingRestarted = true
       val failedActor = actorInstance.get
-      val lock = guard.lock
       guard.withGuard {
         lifeCycle.get match {
           case LifeCycle(scope, _, _) => {
@@ -1116,7 +1120,8 @@ sealed class LocalActorRef private[akka](
       clearTransactionSet
       createNewTransactionSet
     } else oldTxSet
-    Actor.log.ifTrace("Joining transaction set [" + currentTxSet + "];\n\tactor " + toString + "\n\twith message [" + message + "]")
+    Actor.log.ifTrace("Joining transaction set [" + currentTxSet + 
+                      "];\n\tactor " + toString + "\n\twith message [" + message + "]")
     val mtx = ThreadLocalTransaction.getThreadLocalTransaction
     if ((mtx eq null) || mtx.getStatus.isDead) currentTxSet.incParties
     else currentTxSet.incParties(mtx, 1)
@@ -1131,7 +1136,8 @@ sealed class LocalActorRef private[akka](
       else {
         topLevelTransaction = true // FIXME create a new internal atomic block that can wait for X seconds if top level tx
         if (isTransactor) {
-          Actor.log.ifTrace("Creating a new transaction set (top-level transaction)\n\tfor actor " + toString + "\n\twith message " + messageHandle)
+          Actor.log.ifTrace("Creating a new transaction set (top-level transaction)\n\tfor actor " + toString + 
+                            "\n\twith message " + messageHandle)
           Some(createNewTransactionSet)
         } else None
       }
@@ -1172,12 +1178,12 @@ sealed class LocalActorRef private[akka](
         "All linked actors have died permanently (they were all configured as TEMPORARY)" +
         "\n\tshutting down and unlinking supervisor actor as well [%s].",
         temporaryActor.id)
-      _supervisor.foreach(_ ! UnlinkAndStop(this))
+        notifySupervisorWithMessage(UnlinkAndStop(this))
     }
   }
 
-  private def handleExceptionInDispatch(e: Throwable, message: Any, topLevelTransaction: Boolean) = {
-    Actor.log.error(e, "Exception when invoking \n\tactor [%s] \n\twith message [%s]", this, message)
+  private def handleExceptionInDispatch(reason: Throwable, message: Any, topLevelTransaction: Boolean) = {
+    Actor.log.error(reason, "Exception when invoking \n\tactor [%s] \n\twith message [%s]", this, message)
 
     _isBeingRestarted = true
     // abort transaction set
@@ -1187,15 +1193,24 @@ sealed class LocalActorRef private[akka](
       txSet.abort
     }
 
-    senderFuture.foreach(_.completeWithException(this, e))
+    senderFuture.foreach(_.completeWithException(this, reason))
 
     clearTransaction
     if (topLevelTransaction) clearTransactionSet
 
-    // FIXME to fix supervisor restart of remote actor for oneway calls, inject a supervisor proxy that can send notification back to client
-    if (_supervisor.isDefined) _supervisor.get ! Exit(this, e)
+    notifySupervisorWithMessage(Exit(this, reason))
   }
 
+  private def notifySupervisorWithMessage(notification: LifeCycleMessage) = {
+    // FIXME to fix supervisor restart of remote actor for oneway calls, inject a supervisor proxy that can send notification back to client
+    _supervisor.foreach { sup => 
+      if (sup.isShutdown) { // if supervisor is shut down, game over for all linked actors
+//        shutdownLinkedActors
+//        stop
+      } else sup ! notification // else notify supervisor
+    }
+  }
+  
   private def nullOutActorRefReferencesFor(actor: Actor) = {
     actorSelfFields._1.set(actor, null)
     actorSelfFields._2.set(actor, null)
@@ -1215,7 +1230,8 @@ sealed class LocalActorRef private[akka](
       case e: NoSuchFieldException =>
         val parent = clazz.getSuperclass
         if (parent != null) findActorSelfField(parent)
-        else throw new IllegalActorStateException(toString + " is not an Actor since it have not mixed in the 'Actor' trait")
+        else throw new IllegalActorStateException(
+          toString + " is not an Actor since it have not mixed in the 'Actor' trait")
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/akka-core/src/main/scala/actor/Supervisor.scala b/akka-core/src/main/scala/actor/Supervisor.scala
index ecbbf9bb9d..ede7d380db 100644
--- a/akka-core/src/main/scala/actor/Supervisor.scala
+++ b/akka-core/src/main/scala/actor/Supervisor.scala
@@ -161,8 +161,8 @@ sealed class Supervisor private[akka] (
             _childActors.put(className, actorRef :: currentActors)
             actorRef.lifeCycle = Some(lifeCycle)
             supervisor.link(actorRef)
-            remoteAddress.foreach(address =>
-              RemoteServer.registerActor(new InetSocketAddress(address.hostname, address.port), actorRef.uuid, actorRef))
+            remoteAddress.foreach(address => RemoteServer.registerActor(
+              new InetSocketAddress(address.hostname, address.port), actorRef.uuid, actorRef))
           case supervisorConfig @ SupervisorConfig(_, _) => // recursive supervisor configuration
             val childSupervisor = Supervisor(supervisorConfig)
             supervisor.link(childSupervisor.supervisor)
@@ -180,14 +180,23 @@ final class SupervisorActor private[akka] (
   handler: FaultHandlingStrategy,
   trapExceptions: List[Class[_ <: Throwable]]) extends Actor {
   import self._
+  
   trapExit = trapExceptions
   faultHandler = Some(handler)
 
   override def shutdown(): Unit = shutdownLinkedActors
 
   def receive = {
+    // FIXME add a way to respond to MaximumNumberOfRestartsWithinTimeRangeReached in declaratively configured Supervisor
+    case MaximumNumberOfRestartsWithinTimeRangeReached(
+      victim, maxNrOfRetries, withinTimeRange, lastExceptionCausingRestart) =>
+      Actor.log.warning(
+        "Declaratively configured supervisor received a [MaximumNumberOfRestartsWithinTimeRangeReached] notification," +
+        "\n\tbut there is currently no way of handling it in a declaratively configured supervisor." +
+        "\n\tIf you want to be able to handle this error condition then you need to create the supervision tree programatically." +
+        "\n\tThis will be supported in the future.")
     case unknown => throw new SupervisorException(
-      "SupervisorActor can not respond to messages. Unknown message [" + unknown + "]")
+      "SupervisorActor can not respond to messages.\n\tUnknown message [" + unknown + "]")
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/AbstractReactorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher.scala b/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/AbstractReactorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher.scala
index 832ae9203a..6bacec73be 100644
--- a/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/AbstractReactorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher.scala
+++ b/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/AbstractReactorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher.scala
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ abstract class AbstractReactorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher(val name: String) exten
   }
 
   def shutdown = if (active) {
+    log.debug("Shutting down %s", toString)
     active = false
     selectorThread.interrupt
     doShutdown
diff --git a/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ExecutorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher.scala b/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ExecutorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher.scala
index 48b42847a0..1d34083e0a 100644
--- a/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ExecutorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher.scala
+++ b/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ExecutorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher.scala
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ class ExecutorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher(_name: String, throughput: Int = Dispat
 
   @volatile private var active: Boolean = false
 
-  val name: String = "event-driven:executor:dispatcher:" + _name
+  val name = "akka:event-driven:dispatcher:" + _name
   init
 
   def dispatch(invocation: MessageInvocation) = dispatch(invocation.receiver)
@@ -92,8 +92,8 @@ class ExecutorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher(_name: String, throughput: Int = Dispat
         } while ((lockAcquiredOnce && !finishedBeforeMailboxEmpty && !mailbox.isEmpty))
       }
     })
-  } else throw new IllegalActorStateException("Can't submit invocations to dispatcher since it's not started")
-
+  } else log.warning(
+    "%s is shut down,\n\tignoring the rest of the messages in the mailbox of\n\t%s", toString, receiver)
 
   /**
    * Process the messages in the mailbox of the given actor.
@@ -107,25 +107,22 @@ class ExecutorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher(_name: String, throughput: Int = Dispat
       messageInvocation.invoke
       processedMessages += 1
       // check if we simply continue with other messages, or reached the throughput limit
-      if (throughput <= 0 || processedMessages < throughput)
-        messageInvocation = receiver.mailbox.poll
+      if (throughput <= 0 || processedMessages < throughput) messageInvocation = receiver.mailbox.poll
       else {
-        return !receiver.mailbox.isEmpty
         messageInvocation = null
+        return !receiver.mailbox.isEmpty
       }
     }
-
-    return false
+    false
   }
 
   def start = if (!active) {
-    log.debug("Starting ExecutorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher [%s]", name)
-    log.debug("Throughput for %s = %d", name, throughput)
+    log.debug("Starting up %s\n\twith throughput [%d]", toString, throughput)
     active = true
   }
 
   def shutdown = if (active) {
-    log.debug("Shutting down ExecutorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher [%s]", name)
+    log.debug("Shutting down %s", toString)
     executor.shutdownNow
     active = false
     references.clear
@@ -135,6 +132,9 @@ class ExecutorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher(_name: String, throughput: Int = Dispat
 
   def ensureNotActive(): Unit = if (active) throw new IllegalActorStateException(
     "Can't build a new thread pool for a dispatcher that is already up and running")
+    
+  override def toString = "ExecutorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher[" + name + "]"
 
+  // FIXME: should we have an unbounded queue and not bounded as default ????
   private[akka] def init = withNewThreadPoolWithLinkedBlockingQueueWithUnboundedCapacity.buildThreadPool
 }
diff --git a/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ExecutorBasedEventDrivenWorkStealingDispatcher.scala b/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ExecutorBasedEventDrivenWorkStealingDispatcher.scala
index 94ef0a2e67..76138dce35 100644
--- a/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ExecutorBasedEventDrivenWorkStealingDispatcher.scala
+++ b/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ExecutorBasedEventDrivenWorkStealingDispatcher.scala
@@ -41,8 +41,7 @@ class ExecutorBasedEventDrivenWorkStealingDispatcher(_name: String) extends Mess
   /** The index in the pooled actors list which was last used to steal work */
   @volatile private var lastThiefIndex = 0
 
-  // TODO: is there a naming convention for this name?
-  val name: String = "event-driven-work-stealing:executor:dispatcher:" + _name
+  val name = "akka:event-driven-work-stealing:dispatcher:" + _name
   init
 
   def dispatch(invocation: MessageInvocation) = if (active) {
@@ -129,8 +128,7 @@ class ExecutorBasedEventDrivenWorkStealingDispatcher(_name: String) extends Mess
   private def tryDonateAndProcessMessages(receiver: ActorRef, thief: ActorRef) = {
     if (thief.dispatcherLock.tryLock) {
       try {
-        while(donateMessage(receiver, thief))
-          processMailbox(thief)
+        while(donateMessage(receiver, thief)) processMailbox(thief)
       } finally {
         thief.dispatcherLock.unlock
       }
@@ -156,7 +154,7 @@ class ExecutorBasedEventDrivenWorkStealingDispatcher(_name: String) extends Mess
   }
 
   def shutdown = if (active) {
-    log.debug("Shutting down ExecutorBasedEventDrivenWorkStealingDispatcher [%s]", name)
+    log.debug("Shutting down %s", toString)
     executor.shutdownNow
     active = false
     references.clear
@@ -165,6 +163,8 @@ class ExecutorBasedEventDrivenWorkStealingDispatcher(_name: String) extends Mess
   def ensureNotActive(): Unit = if (active) throw new IllegalActorStateException(
     "Can't build a new thread pool for a dispatcher that is already up and running")
 
+  override def toString = "ExecutorBasedEventDrivenWorkStealingDispatcher[" + name + "]"
+ 
   private[akka] def init = withNewThreadPoolWithLinkedBlockingQueueWithUnboundedCapacity.buildThreadPool
 
   override def register(actorRef: ActorRef) = {
@@ -182,15 +182,12 @@ class ExecutorBasedEventDrivenWorkStealingDispatcher(_name: String) extends Mess
 
   private def verifyActorsAreOfSameType(actorOfId: ActorRef) = {
     actorType match {
-      case None => {
-        actorType = Some(actorOfId.actor.getClass)
-      }
-      case Some(aType) => {
+      case None => actorType = Some(actorOfId.actor.getClass)
+      case Some(aType) =>
         if (aType != actorOfId.actor.getClass)
-          throw new IllegalActorStateException(
-            String.format("Can't register actor %s in a work stealing dispatcher which already knows actors of type %s",
-              actorOfId.actor, aType))
-      }
+          throw new IllegalActorStateException(String.format(
+            "Can't register actor %s in a work stealing dispatcher which already knows actors of type %s",
+            actorOfId.actor, aType))
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ReactorBasedSingleThreadEventDrivenDispatcher.scala b/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ReactorBasedSingleThreadEventDrivenDispatcher.scala
index e8fbe9a221..8a951a4e72 100644
--- a/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ReactorBasedSingleThreadEventDrivenDispatcher.scala
+++ b/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ReactorBasedSingleThreadEventDrivenDispatcher.scala
@@ -12,11 +12,14 @@ package se.scalablesolutions.akka.dispatch
 
 import java.util.{LinkedList, List}
 
-class ReactorBasedSingleThreadEventDrivenDispatcher(name: String) extends AbstractReactorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher(name) {
+class ReactorBasedSingleThreadEventDrivenDispatcher(_name: String)
+  extends AbstractReactorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher("akka:event-driven:reactor:single-thread:dispatcher:" + _name) {
+  
   def start = if (!active) {
+    log.debug("Starting up %s", toString)
     active = true
     val messageDemultiplexer = new Demultiplexer(queue)
-    selectorThread = new Thread("event-driven:reactor:single-thread:dispatcher:" + name) {
+    selectorThread = new Thread(name) {
       override def run = {
         while (active) {
           try {
@@ -40,6 +43,8 @@ class ReactorBasedSingleThreadEventDrivenDispatcher(name: String) extends Abstra
 
   def usesActorMailbox = false
 
+  override def toString = "ReactorBasedSingleThreadEventDrivenDispatcher[" + name + "]"
+
   class Demultiplexer(private val messageQueue: ReactiveMessageQueue) extends MessageDemultiplexer {
 
     private val selectedQueue: List[MessageInvocation] = new LinkedList[MessageInvocation]
diff --git a/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ReactorBasedThreadPoolEventDrivenDispatcher.scala b/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ReactorBasedThreadPoolEventDrivenDispatcher.scala
index 3e44cf9f6a..370426b2fd 100644
--- a/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ReactorBasedThreadPoolEventDrivenDispatcher.scala
+++ b/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ReactorBasedThreadPoolEventDrivenDispatcher.scala
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ import se.scalablesolutions.akka.actor.IllegalActorStateException
  * @author <a href="http://jonasboner.com">Jonas Bon&#233;r</a>
  */
 class ReactorBasedThreadPoolEventDrivenDispatcher(_name: String)
-    extends AbstractReactorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher("event-driven:reactor:thread-pool:dispatcher:" + _name)
+    extends AbstractReactorBasedEventDrivenDispatcher("akka:event-driven:reactor:dispatcher:" + _name)
     with ThreadPoolBuilder {
 
   private var fair = true
@@ -75,17 +75,18 @@ class ReactorBasedThreadPoolEventDrivenDispatcher(_name: String)
   withNewThreadPoolWithLinkedBlockingQueueWithUnboundedCapacity.buildThreadPool
 
   def start = if (!active) {
+    log.debug("Starting up %s", toString)
     active = true
 
     /**
-     * This dispatcher code is based on code from the actorom actor framework by Sergio Bossa [http://code.google.com/p/actorom/].
+     * This dispatcher code is based on code from the actorom actor framework by Sergio Bossa
+     * [http://code.google.com/p/actorom/].
      */
     selectorThread = new Thread(name) {
       override def run = {
         while (active) {
           try {
             try {
-        //      guard.synchronized { /* empty */ } // prevents risk for deadlock as described in [http://developers.sun.com/learning/javaoneonline/2006/coreplatform/TS-1315.pdf]
               messageDemultiplexer.select
             } catch { case e: InterruptedException => active = false }
             process(messageDemultiplexer.acquireSelectedInvocations)
@@ -110,7 +111,8 @@ class ReactorBasedThreadPoolEventDrivenDispatcher(_name: String)
       if (invocation eq null) throw new IllegalActorStateException("Message invocation is null [" + invocation + "]")
       if (!busyActors.contains(invocation.receiver)) {
         val invoker = messageInvokers.get(invocation.receiver)
-        if (invoker eq null) throw new IllegalActorStateException("Message invoker for invocation [" + invocation + "] is null")
+        if (invoker eq null) throw new IllegalActorStateException(
+          "Message invoker for invocation [" + invocation + "] is null")
         resume(invocation.receiver)
         invocations.remove
         executor.execute(new Runnable() {
@@ -142,6 +144,8 @@ class ReactorBasedThreadPoolEventDrivenDispatcher(_name: String)
   def ensureNotActive(): Unit = if (active) throw new IllegalActorStateException(
     "Can't build a new thread pool for a dispatcher that is already up and running")
 
+  override def toString = "ReactorBasedThreadPoolEventDrivenDispatcher[" + name + "]"
+
   class Demultiplexer(private val messageQueue: ReactiveMessageQueue) extends MessageDemultiplexer {
     private val selectedInvocations: List[MessageInvocation] = new LinkedList[MessageInvocation]
     private val selectedInvocationsLock = new ReentrantLock
diff --git a/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ThreadBasedDispatcher.scala b/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ThreadBasedDispatcher.scala
index 5c1cb78a52..7355012b1f 100644
--- a/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ThreadBasedDispatcher.scala
+++ b/akka-core/src/main/scala/dispatch/ThreadBasedDispatcher.scala
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import se.scalablesolutions.akka.actor.{Actor, ActorRef}
  */
 class ThreadBasedDispatcher(private val actor: ActorRef) extends MessageDispatcher {
   private val name = actor.getClass.getName + ":" + actor.uuid
-  private val threadName = "thread-based:dispatcher:" + name
+  private val threadName = "akka:thread-based:dispatcher:" + name
   private val queue = new BlockingMessageQueue(name)
   private var selectorThread: Thread = _
   @volatile private var active: Boolean = false
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ class ThreadBasedDispatcher(private val actor: ActorRef) extends MessageDispatch
   def dispatch(invocation: MessageInvocation) = queue.append(invocation)
 
   def start = if (!active) {
+    log.debug("Starting up %s", toString)
     active = true
     selectorThread = new Thread(threadName) {
       override def run = {
@@ -42,11 +43,13 @@ class ThreadBasedDispatcher(private val actor: ActorRef) extends MessageDispatch
   def usesActorMailbox = false
 
   def shutdown = if (active) {
-    log.debug("Shutting down ThreadBasedDispatcher [%s]", name)
+    log.debug("Shutting down %s", toString)
     active = false
     selectorThread.interrupt
     references.clear
   }
+
+  override def toString = "ThreadBasedDispatcher[" + threadName + "]"
 }
 
 class BlockingMessageQueue(name: String) extends MessageQueue {
diff --git a/akka-core/src/main/scala/stm/TransactionFactory.scala b/akka-core/src/main/scala/stm/TransactionFactory.scala
index d4e61ee04f..24c4712509 100644
--- a/akka-core/src/main/scala/stm/TransactionFactory.scala
+++ b/akka-core/src/main/scala/stm/TransactionFactory.scala
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ object TransactionConfig {
   val FAMILY_NAME      = "DefaultTransaction"
   val READONLY         = null.asInstanceOf[JBoolean]
   val MAX_RETRIES      = config.getInt("akka.stm.max-retries", 1000)
-  val TIMEOUT          = config.getLong("akka.stm.timeout", Long.MaxValue)
+  val TIMEOUT          = config.getLong("akka.stm.timeout", 10)
   val TIME_UNIT        = config.getString("akka.stm.time-unit", "seconds")
   val TRACK_READS      = null.asInstanceOf[JBoolean]
   val WRITE_SKEW       = config.getBool("akka.stm.write-skew", true)
@@ -125,8 +125,9 @@ object TransactionFactory {
             quickRelease: Boolean    = TransactionConfig.QUICK_RELEASE,
             traceLevel: TraceLevel   = TransactionConfig.TRACE_LEVEL,
             hooks: Boolean           = TransactionConfig.HOOKS) = {
-    val config = new TransactionConfig(familyName, readonly, maxRetries, timeout, trackReads, writeSkew,
-                                       explicitRetries, interruptible, speculative, quickRelease, traceLevel, hooks)
+    val config = new TransactionConfig(
+      familyName, readonly, maxRetries, timeout, trackReads, writeSkew,
+      explicitRetries, interruptible, speculative, quickRelease, traceLevel, hooks)
     new TransactionFactory(config)
   }
 }
@@ -152,8 +153,9 @@ object TransactionFactory {
  *
  * @see TransactionConfig for configuration options.
  */
-class TransactionFactory(val config: TransactionConfig = DefaultTransactionConfig, defaultName: String = TransactionConfig.FAMILY_NAME) {
-  self =>
+class TransactionFactory(
+  val config: TransactionConfig = DefaultTransactionConfig, 
+  defaultName: String = TransactionConfig.FAMILY_NAME) { self =>
 
   // use the config family name if it's been set, otherwise defaultName - used by actors to set class name as default
   val familyName = if (config.familyName != TransactionConfig.FAMILY_NAME) config.familyName else defaultName
diff --git a/akka-core/src/main/scala/stm/TransactionManagement.scala b/akka-core/src/main/scala/stm/TransactionManagement.scala
index 2eada538c7..25e58f3fb6 100644
--- a/akka-core/src/main/scala/stm/TransactionManagement.scala
+++ b/akka-core/src/main/scala/stm/TransactionManagement.scala
@@ -156,8 +156,13 @@ class GlobalStm extends TransactionManagement with Logging {
         val result = body
         val txSet = getTransactionSetInScope
         log.ifTrace("Committing global transaction [" + mtx + "]\n\tand joining transaction set [" + txSet + "]")
+        try {
+          txSet.tryJoinCommit(
+            mtx,
+            TransactionConfig.DefaultTimeout.length,
+            TransactionConfig.DefaultTimeout.unit) 
         // Need to catch IllegalStateException until we have fix in Multiverse, since it throws it by mistake
-        try { txSet.tryJoinCommit(mtx, TransactionConfig.TIMEOUT, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS) } catch { case e: IllegalStateException => {} }
+        } catch { case e: IllegalStateException => {} }
         result
       }
     })
diff --git a/akka-core/src/test/java/se/scalablesolutions/akka/actor/TransactionalActiveObject.java b/akka-core/src/test/java/se/scalablesolutions/akka/actor/TransactionalActiveObject.java
index 825e7ca489..515f4fafee 100644
--- a/akka-core/src/test/java/se/scalablesolutions/akka/actor/TransactionalActiveObject.java
+++ b/akka-core/src/test/java/se/scalablesolutions/akka/actor/TransactionalActiveObject.java
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ public class TransactionalActiveObject {
       refState = new Ref();
       isInitialized = true;
     }
-    System.out.println("==========> init");
   }
   
   public String getMapState(String key) {
@@ -38,7 +37,6 @@ public class TransactionalActiveObject {
 
   public void setMapState(String key, String msg) {
     mapState.put(key, msg);
-    System.out.println("==========> setMapState");
   }
 
   public void setVectorState(String msg) {
@@ -74,7 +72,6 @@ public class TransactionalActiveObject {
     mapState.put(key, msg);
     vectorState.add(msg);
     refState.swap(msg);
-    System.out.println("==========> failure");
     nested.failure(key, msg, failer);
     return msg;
   }
diff --git a/akka-core/src/test/scala/NestedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec.scala b/akka-core/src/test/scala/DeclarativelySupervisedNestedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec.scala
similarity index 94%
rename from akka-core/src/test/scala/NestedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec.scala
rename to akka-core/src/test/scala/DeclarativelySupervisedNestedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec.scala
index 6ad73d5438..ea244bf966 100644
--- a/akka-core/src/test/scala/NestedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-core/src/test/scala/DeclarativelySupervisedNestedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec.scala
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import se.scalablesolutions.akka.config.JavaConfig._
 import se.scalablesolutions.akka.actor._
 
 @RunWith(classOf[JUnitRunner])
-class NestedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec extends
+class DeclarativelySupervisedNestedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec extends
   Spec with
   ShouldMatchers with
   BeforeAndAfterAll {
@@ -32,14 +32,14 @@ class NestedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec extends
       new RestartStrategy(new AllForOne, 3, 5000, List(classOf[Exception]).toArray),
         List(
           new Component(classOf[TransactionalActiveObject],
-              new LifeCycle(new Permanent),
-              10000),
+            new LifeCycle(new Permanent),
+            10000),
           new Component(classOf[NestedTransactionalActiveObject],
-              new LifeCycle(new Permanent),
-              10000),
+            new LifeCycle(new Permanent),
+            10000),
           new Component(classOf[ActiveObjectFailer],
-              new LifeCycle(new Permanent),
-              10000)
+            new LifeCycle(new Permanent),
+            10000)
         ).toArray).supervise
   }
 
@@ -47,8 +47,8 @@ class NestedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec extends
     conf.stop
   }
 
-  describe("Transactional nested in-memory Active Object") {
-/*
+  describe("Declaratively nested supervised transactional in-memory Active Object") {
+
     it("map should not rollback state for stateful server in case of success") {
       val stateful = conf.getInstance(classOf[TransactionalActiveObject])
       stateful.init
@@ -156,6 +156,5 @@ class NestedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec extends
       Thread.sleep(100)
       nested.getRefState should equal("init")
     }
-    */
   }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/akka-core/src/test/scala/TransactionalActiveObjectSpec.scala b/akka-core/src/test/scala/DeclarativelySupervisedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec.scala
similarity index 86%
rename from akka-core/src/test/scala/TransactionalActiveObjectSpec.scala
rename to akka-core/src/test/scala/DeclarativelySupervisedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec.scala
index d1c59b1df4..95d7b8e5df 100644
--- a/akka-core/src/test/scala/TransactionalActiveObjectSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-core/src/test/scala/DeclarativelySupervisedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec.scala
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import se.scalablesolutions.akka.config.JavaConfig._
 import se.scalablesolutions.akka.actor._
 
 @RunWith(classOf[JUnitRunner])
-class TransactionalActiveObjectSpec extends
+class DeclarativelySupervisedTransactionalActiveObjectSpec extends
   Spec with
   ShouldMatchers with
   BeforeAndAfterAll {
@@ -29,24 +29,25 @@ class TransactionalActiveObjectSpec extends
   override def beforeAll {
     Config.config
     conf.configure(
-        new RestartStrategy(new AllForOne, 3, 5000, List(classOf[Exception]).toArray),
-        List(
-            new Component(classOf[TransactionalActiveObject],
-                new LifeCycle(new Permanent),
-                //new RestartCallbacks("preRestart", "postRestart")),
-                10000),
-            new Component(classOf[ActiveObjectFailer],
-                new LifeCycle(new Permanent),
-                10000)).toArray
-        ).supervise
+      new RestartStrategy(new AllForOne, 3, 5000, List(classOf[Exception]).toArray),
+      List(
+        new Component(
+          classOf[TransactionalActiveObject],
+          new LifeCycle(new Permanent),
+          10000),
+        new Component(
+          classOf[ActiveObjectFailer],
+          new LifeCycle(new Permanent),
+          10000)
+      ).toArray).supervise
   }
 
   override def afterAll {
     conf.stop
   }
   
-  describe("Transactional in-memory Active Object ") {
-    /*
+  describe("Declaratively supervised transactional in-memory Active Object ") {
+
     it("map should not rollback state for stateful server in case of success") {
       val stateful = conf.getInstance(classOf[TransactionalActiveObject])
       stateful.init
@@ -58,9 +59,7 @@ class TransactionalActiveObjectSpec extends
     it("map should rollback state for stateful server in case of failure") {
       val stateful = conf.getInstance(classOf[TransactionalActiveObject])
       stateful.init
-      Thread.sleep(500)
       stateful.setMapState("testShouldRollbackStateForStatefulServerInCaseOfFailure", "init")
-      Thread.sleep(500)
       val failer = conf.getInstance(classOf[ActiveObjectFailer])
       try {
         stateful.failure("testShouldRollbackStateForStatefulServerInCaseOfFailure", "new state", failer)
@@ -69,6 +68,14 @@ class TransactionalActiveObjectSpec extends
       stateful.getMapState("testShouldRollbackStateForStatefulServerInCaseOfFailure") should equal("init")
     }
 
+    it("vector should not rollback state for stateful server in case of success") {
+      val stateful = conf.getInstance(classOf[TransactionalActiveObject])
+      stateful.init
+      stateful.setVectorState("init") // set init state
+      stateful.success("testShouldNotRollbackStateForStatefulServerInCaseOfSuccess", "new state")
+      stateful.getVectorState should equal("new state")
+    }
+
     it("vector should rollback state for stateful server in case of failure") {
       val stateful = conf.getInstance(classOf[TransactionalActiveObject])
       stateful.init
@@ -81,12 +88,12 @@ class TransactionalActiveObjectSpec extends
       stateful.getVectorState should equal("init")
     }
 
-    it("vector should not rollback state for stateful server in case of success") {
+    it("ref should not rollback state for stateful server in case of success") {
       val stateful = conf.getInstance(classOf[TransactionalActiveObject])
       stateful.init
-      stateful.setVectorState("init") // set init state
+      stateful.setRefState("init") // set init state
       stateful.success("testShouldNotRollbackStateForStatefulServerInCaseOfSuccess", "new state")
-      stateful.getVectorState should equal("new state")
+      stateful.getRefState should equal("new state")
     }
 
     it("ref should rollback state for stateful server in case of failure") {
@@ -100,14 +107,5 @@ class TransactionalActiveObjectSpec extends
       } catch { case e => {} }
       stateful.getRefState should equal("init")
     }
-
-    it("ref should not rollback state for stateful server in case of success") {
-      val stateful = conf.getInstance(classOf[TransactionalActiveObject])
-      stateful.init
-      stateful.setRefState("init") // set init state
-      stateful.success("testShouldNotRollbackStateForStatefulServerInCaseOfSuccess", "new state")
-      stateful.getRefState should equal("new state")
-    }
-    */
   }
 }
diff --git a/config/akka-reference.conf b/config/akka-reference.conf
index 326dd64636..6d919ed3bd 100644
--- a/config/akka-reference.conf
+++ b/config/akka-reference.conf
@@ -36,15 +36,19 @@ akka {
   }
 
   stm {
-    fair = on                # should global transactions be fair or non-fair (non fair yield better performance)
-    jta-aware = off          # 'on' means that if there JTA Transaction Manager available then the STM will
-                             # begin (or join), commit or rollback the JTA transaction. Default is 'off'.
+    fair = on             # should global transactions be fair or non-fair (non fair yield better performance)
+    jta-aware = off       # 'on' means that if there JTA Transaction Manager available then the STM will
+                          # begin (or join), commit or rollback the JTA transaction. Default is 'off'.
+    timeout = 5           # default timeout for blocking transactions and transaction set (in unit defined by 
+                          # the time-unit property)
+    # FIXME: use 'time-unit' for all timeouts
+    time-unit = "seconds" # default timeout time unit
   }
 
   jta {
-    provider = "from-jndi"   # Options: "from-jndi" (means that Akka will try to detect a TransactionManager in the JNDI)
-                             #          "atomikos" (means that Akka will use the Atomikos based JTA impl in 'akka-jta',
-                             #          e.g. you need the akka-jta JARs on classpath).
+    provider = "from-jndi" # Options: "from-jndi" (means that Akka will try to detect a TransactionManager in the JNDI)
+                           #          "atomikos" (means that Akka will use the Atomikos based JTA impl in 'akka-jta',
+                           #          e.g. you need the akka-jta JARs on classpath).
     timeout = 60000
   }
 
@@ -52,9 +56,9 @@ akka {
     service = on
     hostname = "localhost"
     port = 9998
-    filters = ["se.scalablesolutions.akka.security.AkkaSecurityFilterFactory"] # List with all jersey filters to use
+    filters = ["se.scalablesolutions.akka.security.AkkaSecurityFilterFactory"]     # List with all jersey filters to use
     resource_packages = ["sample.rest.scala","sample.rest.java","sample.security"] # List with all resource packages for your Jersey services
-    authenticator = "sample.security.BasicAuthenticationService" # The authentication service to use. Need to be overridden (uses sample now)
+    authenticator = "sample.security.BasicAuthenticationService"                   # The authentication service to use. Need to be overridden (uses sample now)
 
     #IF you are using a KerberosAuthenticationActor
     #   kerberos {