Lack of updates is not indicative of progress.

The Orville short story is currently trapped in editing-limbo where it is expected to remain until next week.

So what I should be doing is going through and rewriting or finishing the three other stories I currently have In Progress.

But, well, Easter and Portal 2 and Cryponomicon and Easter and 75-80 degree days without too much pollen or too many bugs.

I've also been reading a few books from other self-publishing authors: The Red Man by Alex Meleg which was an exciting Dr. Moreau-esqe short and Bodily Harm by William Vitka, which just came out of left field and went in a direction I never expected. Animal Farm meets your fears of getting older. Very cool.

Historical notes: Any single-edged sword might be called a "back sword," since the back end is unfinished.
 Fencing swords from the French or Italian schools will be thin back swords. Foils, epees, and fencing sabers, among others. They're pretty long but not like a long sword from D&D/Tolkien, more like 5 feet. These swords have a slashing edge but were mainly used for stabbing motions in real combat. They were also widely used in dueling, where the slashing edge would only but against something like a silk shirt, not a plate of armor.
A cavalry saber is also a backsword but otherwise completely different from the fencing kind. It is thicker and often curved. The extra weight and curve both aid in its goal: killing people who are running away from your horse. A slash to the back of a fleeing infantryman with a fencing sword might buckle the sword on his collarbone or spine, but a slightly heavier sword will just cut him open and leave you free to go. A scimitar is essentially a cavalry saber.
A cutlass, the so-called pirate sword, is also a backsword. It's larger and heavier than a cavalry sword, more like a machete. Like a machete it is useful not only as a weapon, but also as a tool. If the heavy ropes on a ship get tangled or tied they might need to be moved immediately without enough time to untie or untangle them, so a sword capable of chopping through is a useful sword. It's also useful for chopping up the rigging on a ship you happen to board, if you are indeed a pirate.