I re-enabled it last night because I didn't fancy coming back online to see people demanding that I re-implement it. I'm not entirely satisfied that it isn't causing the high server load; I'll be contacting the author of the modification to ask his opinion. It may still have to be removed, not because I want to spoil anyone's fun -- I love the latest info box -- but if it's doing more harm than good then I will have to remove it. It's back for now, though.
Edit: By the way, for those of you who, like me, use the latest info box to determine when new replies come in: You can always use the 'Today's Posts' button situated under 'Quicklinks' in the navigation bar to find out if new posts have been made.