Modifying a welcome panel's code? Too many queries!

[Megareus Rex]

For years I've been using this welcome panel hack: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=105958

It was coded by a friend of mine (not for my site, however), and we've been using it since we opened, however I recently audited where my site's queries and realized that his adds a massive SEVEN (7) queries to forumhome.

Unfortunately, I'm not very adept with coding, and the author of the hack hasn't touched coding since he released the version in that link.

If anyone is willing to help, would it be possible to reduce the query amount? I would think several of those variables it calls for are already called for the normal "forum stats" panel that it just has you delete the html for. I would dearly love to continue using the welcome panel (and I'm sure he enjoys seeing it in sue himself), so abandoning it or switching to a different one isn't something I care to do if at all possible.

Should anyone be willing, the author would probably be fine with them re-releasing an optimized version of the hack. He'd give explicit permission first, of course.

Thanks in advance for any help offered!