I have the same tic. It drives my boss crazy. I loathe the New York Times for this. Very frustrating! I also tend to draw squares with my mouse on my desktop. I don't know why.

Huh, I do this as well. It bothers me a lot if the "wrong" UI element has focus.

A couple of years ago (? -- how time flies), I followed someone's suggestion to use Adblock to block a specific .js file from the NYT that implemented this "clicky/do-y" feature. This was shortly after the new NYT site behavior appeared. The suggestion worked great and continues to do so.

(As for Adblock, I don't mind some non-invasive adverstising, but moving graphics and the like completely distract me. The only way I can use a site is to get such out of view.)

P.S. Adblock Plus, actually.

P.P.S. I'd been removing distracting items from page views on a case by case basis (attempt to use page; remove anything thereupon overly distracting me, on a one time basis using another Firefox extension). I no longer recall for certain, but it may have been the NYT's new behavior that finally tipped the balance and brought me to try Adblock Plus. As I think back on it, an interesting, if anecdotal, reflection on the perhaps unexpected incentive effects of site design.