I’m addicted to white noise; I pretty much can’t fall asleep without some sort of constant/cycling noise (like a fan or even a hairdryer) in the background. I’ve considered buying one of those pricey “soothing sounds” machines you can find at places like The Sharper Image, or even just the “relaxing music” compilations found at Chopra Center and the like.

Luckily for me and my bank account, Peter Hirschberg has released the “Charityware” program Aire Freshener - it’s got quite a few background natural/soothing sound loops, and even doubles as a CD player program. My favorite is definitely the “Campfire” sound, but there’s at least twenty different ambient sounds to choose from. Direct download is here, so enjoy… and thanks, Peter!