Eric R Snow writes:

So, measuring the distance the spot travels will show how many pulses
should be generated.

This won't work with a simple beam. The laser spot will inevitably be many
times the size of the motion of the spot you are trying to measure. We
have hashed this over and over with people who speculate they can align
their round-column mill drills using a laser.

I'm always surprised by people who think laser pointers have near-zero
angular diameter. Not the case.