Abstract: A retaining device positioned against the free end of anything dispensed from a roll to secure it and thereby prevent unattended or surplus dispensing. The device prevents excessive unwinding of paper towels in a motor home or travel trailer due to travel vibration, as a result of wind and other air movement, and where assistance with efficient repeat one-handed separation of a single towel or sheet from a roll is needed. One end of the device mounts to the support surface behind the roll, without any attachment to the holder supporting the roll, wherein a primary contact area adjacent to the device's opposed end becomes biased against the free end to prevent excess dispensing until the roll is completely spent. Dispensing applications include, but are not limited to, commercial and non-commercial use of paper towels on a roll, and retail outlet use of other commercial paper on a roll.

Abstract: A two-part mail delivery alert flag with a spring-loaded hinge and a signal flag member having a bent tailpiece, a broad width dimension, and a narrowed distal end that is inserted between the mailbox's outside surface and the lip of its door, when the door is fully closed. After a mail carrier approaches the mailbox and opens the door, the signal flag member is immediately released and rotates into an easily visible deployed position substantially perpendicular to the mailbox's outside surface. The mail alert flag operates independently from the flag typically used on the right side of a mailbox to alert the mail carrier to the presence of outgoing mail. Further, it can be mounted in almost any top or lateral position on the outside surface of the mailbox where it would be readily visible to the person typically expected to monitor mail delivery from a remote location.

Abstract: A food dish separable into two parts and having a central tapered post construction that provides a secure, self-adjusting, and non-wobbling fit of upper and lower members together while they are connected, but which permits easy separation thereof when needed to clean the upper food-holding member. The upper and lower members are substantially similar in diameter dimension so that animals do not have access to the contents of the lower member. It is contemplated for the lower member to hold a fluid or viscous material that prevents crawling insects, particularly ants, from gaining access to food in the upper member. Applications may include, but are not limited to, use with cat food, dog food, and food for puppies and other animals that is made continuously available for on-demand consumption, and to keep crawling insects out of food scraps and residue left in food dishes after an animal has eaten.