Thanks, Adam. Wow, I didn't realize people were actually watching...that increases the pressure.
For flashing 1UP, my technique is to watch the flashing, and go when I see the 1UP on screen. The few split seconds of reaction time results in actually reaching the top of the ladder while the 1UP is off screen. It took a lot of just doing it repeatedly to actually get to a point of being able to time it correctly. That's how I do it at least. Robert - I suggest reading the advanced pie factory thread, but in a nutshell, it eliminates having the 5th fireball spawn "late" (or delayed), which has multiple benefits.
I only clear the bottom left rivet without going over it, with very rare exception. And as you can probably tell, I verify that I haven't cleared it before pulling left so I don't accidentally run back into the hole. I also don't do it if there's any chance of a fireball being in close proximity. My opinion is that it saves a few milliseconds, which typically pay off elsewhere.
As for my last death, I think I got bit by one of those springs that moves more quickly on the horizontal plain than the typical spring. That's a thing, right? I seem to recall reading that in xelnia's awesome Spring Theory thread. The only other explanation is I simply mis-timed it, which is also certainly possible.
