(a) Let $a_{0}, a_{1}, \ldots, a_{2024}$ be real numbers such that $\left|a_{i+1}-a_{i}\right| \leqslant 1$ for $i=0,1, \ldots, 2023$.

Find the minimum possible value of

$$a_{0} a_{1}+a_{1} a_{2}+\cdots+a_{2023} a_{2024}$$

(b) Does there exist a real number $C$ such that

$$a_{0} a_{1}-a_{1} a_{2}+a_{2} a_{3}-a_{3} a_{4}+\cdots+a_{2022} a_{2023}-a_{2023} a_{2024} \geqslant C$$

for all real numbers $a_{0}, a_{1}, \ldots, a_{2024}$ such that $\left|a_{i+1}-a_{i}\right| \leqslant 1$ for $i=0,1, \ldots, 2023$ ?