Don't Dig Straight Down!

Just a little reminder that you should never dig straight down in Minecraft. If you have to descend directly downward, then use a method called the "Conmutaz." That method was named after four American states, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona, because of the way they share borders. To use the Conmutaz, stand on the border between 2 blocks, so that if you mine one, the other will still support you. That way, if you start to mine down into a lava pool, you will hopefully have only dug one side of the shaft, so you will see the lava while the other side still supports you... It's rather hard to explain without pictures, but if you try it out you will see what I mean.