Can I get rid of the quick launch buttons?

you need to Switch Toolbar into other folder.
Make new folder for TLB, then open TLB and go to TLB Settings dialog box. Click on Toolbars tab and create new toolbar, write path to the created folder. When all done press activate. TLB will switch to your new folder.

and how often does the weather plugin update itself?

In the properties for weather monitor you can setup update time.