Search, search, work, then find site with exact solution

I frequently come across a frustrating scenario where I search, read, work, and struggle through how to do something and then find a site with the steps clearly laid out to do the thing I just struggled to figure out how to do. I find this happens most frequently to me in working to solve a problem with Microsoft software then finding an official Microsoft site with the solution. This is not a criticism against Microsoft but a comment on the availability of documentation (both at Microsoft's site and on the internet in general).

I found a site with instructions on loading sound drivers (https://www.dan.me.uk/blog/2010/09/26/freebsd-sound-card-driver/), installing a GUI (https://www.dan.me.uk/blog/2010/09/26/gnome-gui-freebsd-8/), and installing the Flash plugin (https://www.dan.me.uk/blog/2010/09/26/installing-flash-plugin-10-for-firefox-in-freebsd-8/) in FreeBSD at https://www.dan.me.uk/blog/ that could have saved me some work. Unfortunately, it's been a while since he's posted to his blog. I found my instructions from the FreeBSD Handbook (http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/), which, of course, got me to the same result.