Erik Helms Design 2.0 - New Identity Perhaps?

I'm playing around with new logos - and I don't know which direction I should really go in. SO here I'm showing you 2 different ones. Maybe I can get some feedback? I'm certainly not married to either of these ideas. I might just throw this whole concept out of the window and start over. But I like the octopus silhouetted behind the logo, but I might not like the way I made that particular logo. I like the top one because I think it's simple and clean but it doesn't have as much personality. I definitely want to see how people feel about it before I start laying out a new site that plays off of that idea. The 2.0 definitely won't stay there - but that's how I think I'm going to market my new site. comments and critique welcome as always.